Washington Volleyball

Warriors slip by Lions in gem of a match

The Washington volleyball team practices each day wearing shirts that read, “Pressure creates diamonds.”

And in a dazzling five-set gem over a diamond-in-the-rough Linn-Mar squad Thursday night, the Warriors simply sparkled.

“I am super proud of these girls,” Washington Coach Kari Lombardi said after the regional semifinal victory that puts them a match away from the state tournament.

“They played tough all five games. Tonight, they were diamonds.”

Unranked Washington (28-13) now faces Class 5A second-ranked Pleasant Valley (36-1) Tuesday night at West Branch for the regional championship.

With just one senior on the roster, the young Lions from Linn-Mar were plenty splendid themselves in their season-ending loss.

Other than the first game, which Washington won 25-16 after leading all the way, the rest of the matches went back and forth.

Linn-Mar (15-21) bounced back to take the second game 25-21, rebounded from a 25-21 defeat in the third game with a 25-23 clutch win and then fell 16-14 in the decisive set after leading 14-13.

The Lions were one point away from winning the match.

“It was a tough loss,” said co-coach Erin Downing, whose team fell to the Wariors for the third time in less than two weeks. “But we executed and were solid all night. The girls played their hearts out.

"They fought and battled for every point. So I have no complaints.”

Downing and fellow former assistant Jenny Lucas took over the Linn-Mar team when they were 3-7 after head coach Rob Justis resigned under a cloud early in the season. The junior-laden squad has made remarkable progress since.

“Tonight, they applied every lesson we’ve been preaching all year,” said Downing. “They really came through.”

The only regret, she pointed out, was that the match was sealed when Washington’s Aleena Hobbs won the final point with a net serve that dribbled untouched to the floor.

“It’s too bad it ended without us getting a chance to return it,” Downing said. “But that’s just the luck of the game.”

It was pure tenacity on both sides, and not luck, that marked the first four games.

While the Warriors coasted in the opener, Linn-Mar jumped ahead 8-5 in the second game and held on the rest of the way. After the Warriors closed to 22-21, Lions senior Megan Allmandinger unleashed a ferocious spike to put the game away.

She repeated the slam in game four with her team sitting on a 23-23 lead.

“We’re going to miss her next year,” said Downing of the Grand View University recruit. “She’s a great player."

Allmandinger and sophomore Sami Boekhoeff each recorded 23 kills Wednesday night.

The  Warriors, meanwhile, were again led by a trio of junior heavy hitters in Hobbs (11 kills), Dani Franklin (17) and Kellie Walters (12). Hobbs and junior Alusa Gerhold had 21 digs, while Walters notched six aces in 28 serves.

It was with Franklin serving that Washington pulled away to victory in the third game after Linn-Mar cut the lead to 20-19. Franklin also smashed a back-breaking spike to put her team in the lead 15-14 in the finale.

“Coming back from being behind 11-8 in the last game showed some real resiliency,” said Lombardi. “I thought the girls played with mental toughness and a lot of heart all night.

“Give Linn-Mar credit, though. They came ready to play. They were prepared and played very well.”

Washington senior setter Hannah Reese, who led her team with 40 assists, said it was by far the best match the Warriors have played this year.

“We haven’t been to state since 1994,” she said. “That’s been our goal all year. We’ve played against real good competition, and we’ve been getting better at the end of the season.

“Like our shirts say, ‘Pressure creates diamonds.’ And Coach said tonight we really shined.”

Warriors spike J-Hawks; Lions up next

Washington whipped Jefferson in three straight sets in a Class 5A first round regional volleyball tournament match at Washington.

The Warriors won 25-8, 25-17, 25-8.

Washington (26-13) advances to play Linn-Mar (15-19) in a regional semifinal Thursday night at Linn-Mar. The Lions had a first-round bye.

Jefferson bows out 4-32.

Surprising Warriors reach MVC finals

Among the dozens of state tournament banners hanging in the Cedar Rapids Washington gymnasium there is but one lonely one for volleyball.

Before most any of the girls on this year’s team were even born, the Warriors made it to the state meet way back in 1994. That’s it in the history of the school.

This may be the year that a second banner is hung.

“That’s our goal,” according to junior outside power hitter Dani Franklin. “We want to see another one go up in the gym.”

The Warriors staked a claim Saturday to be a legitimate state qualifying team by finishing a surprising second in the talent-laden Mississippi Valley Conference tournament at Kennedy.

Of the 14 MVC schools in the field, seven are ranked in the top 15 in the state in either Class 4A or 5A.

Unranked at 20-11 coming in, Washington reeled off a string of impressive victories to advance to the championship final against Class 5A third-ranked Dubuque Hempstead (22-4).

Along the way were upsets over two ranked teams in host Kennedy and Dubuque Wahlert.

The Warriors finally lost to Hempstead, 25-21, 25-19, in the finals in a hard-fought match. But Coach Kari Lombardi couldn’t have been more proud of the effort her senior-heavy squad displayed.

“I’m pretty sure this is the highest Washington has ever finished in the conference tournament,” she said. “And to do that with all the ranked teams here is an accomplishment.

“We played really well today. I think it gives us momentum going into the state tournament.”

To get there, however, they’ll have to get past Linn-Mar, another team that far exceeded expectations in Saturday’s tournament.

Entering the day at 13-16, the Lions also pulled off some surprises and made it as far as the quarterfinals in the championship bracket before falling to the Warriors, 25-18, 25-13.

After losing to eighth-ranked Cedar Falls in their first morning match, the Lions got better as the day went along.

“I think we were still asleep that first game,” said Co-Coach Erin Downing. “But after that the girls really picked it up.”

They upended Class 5A defending state champ Iowa City West and then knocked off Hempstead, 2-0.

“We really took it to them,” Downing said. “We played smart, aggressive volleyball. It was easily our best game all year.”

As both Washington and Linn-Mar seem to be peaking at just the right time in the season, they’ll have a return match Tuesday to end the regular season.

Through a quirk in postseason scheduling, the Lions drew a bye in the first round of state qualifying play while the Warriors face Jefferson a week from Monday.

If Washington wins, a rematch with Linn-Mar would be next up on the following Thursday. The winner of that one meets the winner of Prairie/Pleasant Valley for a trip to the Cedar Rapids Ice Arena for the state meet.

“We’ve had some good solid wins over some good teams,” according to Linn-Mar’s Downing. “This team has been working their butts off. But we’re really playing with confidence now.”

So are the Warriors.

“We’re coming together as a team,” said Washington’s Franklin. “We’ve been battling the top teams in our conference, and we’re starting to believe in ourselves.”

MVC VOLLEYBALL TOURNAMENT

CHAMPIONSHIP QUARTERFINALS
Cedar Falls def. Xavier, 25-17, 24-26, 15-7
Hempstead def. Iowa City High, 25-23, 22-25, 15-13
Washington def. Linn-Mar 25-18, 25-13
Wahlert def. Prairie, 25-23, 25-22

CHAMPIONSHIP SEMIFINALS
Hempstead def. Cedar Falls, 27-25, 25-20
Washington def. Wahlert, 25-13, 25-20

CHAMPIONSHIP FINALS
Hempstead def. Washington, 25-21, 25-19

CONSOLATION QUARTERFINALS
Iowa City West def. Jefferson, 25-19, 25-14
Waterloo West def. Waterloo East, 25-23, 25-17

CONSOLATION SEMIFINALS
Iowa City West def. Dubuque Senior, 25-18, 25-20
Kennedy def. Waterloo West, 25-21, 25-20

CONSOLATION FINALS
Kennedy def. Iowa City West, 25-20, 25-23

POOL STANDINGS

POOL A: I.C. High 3-0, Prairie 1-2, Dubuque Senior 1-2, Waterloo West 1-2.
POOL B: Washington 2-1, Xavier 2-1, Kennedy 2-1, Jefferson 0-3.
POOL C: Wahlert 2-1, Hempstead 1-2, Waterloo East 0-3.
POOL D: Cedar Falls 3-0, Linn-Mar 2-1, Iowa City West 1-2

WASHINGTON RESULTS
Defeated Kennedy, 21-11, 21-16
Lost to Xavier, 11-21, 21-19, 15-12
Defeated Jefferson, 21-7, 21-8
Defeated Linn-Mar, 25-18, 25-13
Defeated Wahlert 25-13, 25-20
Lost to Hempstead, 25-21, 25-19

XAVIER RESULTS
Defeated Jefferson, 21-7, 21-12
Defeated Washington, 11-21, 21-19, 15-12
Lost to Kennedy, 14-21, 22-20, 15-13
Lost to Cedar Falls, 25-17, 24-26, 15-7

LINN-MAR RESULTS
Lost to Cedar Falls, 21-13, 21-14
Defeated Iowa City West, 16-21, 21-14, 19-17
Defeated Hempstead, 23-21, 21-10
Lost to Washington, 25-18, 25-13

PRAIRIE RESULTS
Lost to Iowa City High, 21-11, 21-17
Lost to Waterloo West, 21-17, 21-16
Defeated Dubuque Senior, 21-16, 21-16
Lost to Dubuque Wahlert, 25-23, 25-22

KENNEDY RESULTS
Lost to Washington, 21-11, 21-16
Defeated Jefferson, 21-10, 21-13
Defeated Xavier, 14-21, 22-20, 15-13
Defeated Waterloo West, 25-21, 25-20
Defeated Iowa City West, 25-20, 25-23

JEFFERSON RESULTS
Lost to Xavier, 21-7, 21-12
Lost to Kennedy, 21-10, 21-13
Lost to Washington, 21-7, 21-8
Lost to Iowa City West, 25-19, 25-14

Warriors upset No. 7 Cedar Falls, 3-2

Hanna Reese collected 49 assists Tuesday as the Cedar Rapids Washington volleyball team defeated No. 7 Cedar Falls, 25-15, 20-25, 25-22, 22-25, 15-6, on Senior Night at Washington.

Dani Franklin had 16 kills for the Warriors and Aleena Hobbs had 12. Hobbs finished with 23 digs, Franklin had 20 and Alisa Gerhold 19.

Shanay Gonder went 24 for 25 on serves and had four aces. Reese had four blocks.