Washington Volleyball

Washington spikers 2nd at Prairie

Washington dropped a three-set match to Mediapolis and finished second Saturday at the Starcevich Invitational at Prairie High School.

Mediapolis won the six-team tournament with a 5-0 record. Washington was 4-1. Mediapolis beat the Warriors, 17-21, 21-16, 16-14.

Prairie was one of three teams to finish with a 1-4 mark. The Hawks were awarded fifth by virtue of their win over South Tama. The scores were 21-11 and 21-14.

Clear Creek Amana was third at 3-2.

Washington beat Prairie (21-11, 15-21, 15-7), South Tama (13-21, 21-8, 15-7), Ottumwa (21-11, 21-7) and Clear Creek Amana (21-11, 21-19)

STARCEVICH INVITATIONAL
At Prairie

Teams
1. Mediapolis 5-0, 2. CR Washington 4-1, 3. Clear Creek Amana 3-2, 4. Ottumwa 1-4, 5. Prairie 1-4, 6. South Tama 1-4

Scores
Mediapolis def. Clear Creek Amana 24-22, 21-18
Mediapolis def. Washington 17-21, 21-16, 16-14
Mediapolis def. Prairie 21-17, 21-15
Mediapolis def. South Tama, 21-12, 21-7
Mediapolis def. Ottumwa 21-3, 21-8
Washington def. Prairie, 21-11, 15-21, 15-7
Washington def. South Tama 13-21, 21-8, 15-7
Washington def. Ottumwa 21-11, 21-7
Washington def. Clear Creek Amana 21-11, 21-19
Clear Creek Amana def. South Tama 21-12, 21-11
Clear Creek Amana def. Ottumwa 21-13, 21-12
Clear Creek Amana def. Prairie 14-21, 21-19, 15-8
Ottumwa def. Prairie 21-18, 21-23, 15-10
Prairie def. South Tama 21-11, 21-14
South Tama def. Ottumwa 15-21, 21-19, 15-10

No. 8 Xavier spikers sweep Warriors

The Xavier High School volleyball team got a healthy dose of confidence Saturday when it defeated Kennedy at the Dubuque Invitational.

The Saints kept it going Tuesday night against Washington.

Xavier swept the Warriors, 25-18, 25-17, 25-23, in a Mississippi Valley Conference match at Washington with a strong performance.

The Saints (16-8, 3-0) had never beaten Kennedy in the 15-year history of Xavier High School, so whipping the Cougars in Dubuque was a major breakthrough. The Cougars reached the semifinals of the state tournament in 2009, 2010 and 2011 and traditionally have one of the top programs in Iowa.

"Overcoming Kennedy was a really big thing. It was definitely a boost to our confidence," said 5-foot-10 sophomore Kayla Torson, who amassed 11 kills Tuesday. "It made us even more excited for the season."

The Saints are ranked No. 8 in Class 4A. The Warriors (10-8, 1-3) were ranked in Class 5A earlier this season, but have dropped out.

Xavier held the upper hand all night against Washington and posted convincing victories in the first two sets. The Warriors rallied from a 21-13 deficit in the third game and pulled within 23-22 and 24-23, but the Saints won the match on a kill by Torson.

The Saints featured a well-rounded attack. They displayed a strong defense and offense, with powerful shots at the net and clever playmaking by Sarah Homan.

"That's the really nice thing about this team," said Coach Barb Sullivan. "They are very well-balanced. There's not necessarily one standout athlete.

"Our back row is starting to work really well together along with our front row. So as a unit they're really starting to come together. They're really starting to jell as a team."

Homan finished with 24 assists and 11 digs. Halle Heying also came up with 11 digs. Kasey VandenBosch collected six kills and Audrey Richards had three blocks.

"We all do a really good job of picking each other up, just supporting each other," said Torson. "And if someone messes up, it's not a big deal. We all mess up.

"Sarah, our setter, does a really good job of distributing the ball so all the hitters get a chance to prove themselves. And our defense is amazing."

Wash, Prairie finish .500 at CF volleyball

CEDAR RAPIDS - The Washington and Prairie volleyball teams broke even at the Cedar Falls Invitational on Saturday.

The Warriors reached the quarterfinals of the championship bracket before losing to Charles City and finished with a 2-2 record in the tournament.

The Hawks reached the finals of the consolation bracket before losing to Marshalltown and finished with a 3-3 record in the tournament on a busy day.

Washington went 2-1 in pool play with victories over Waukee (21-13, 21-13) and Marshalltown (21-11, 21-7), coupled with a loss to Dike-New Hartford (21-14, 21-9).

Prairie finished 1-2 in pool play with a victory over Waterloo West (21-14, 21-11), combined with losses to Dowling (21-6, 21-14) and Waterloo Columbus (21-16, 18-21, 15-9).

The Hawks defeated Waukon (25-21, 25-22) and Waukee (25-13, 25-15) in the consolation bracket before losing to Marshalltown.

Dike-New Hartford won the championship with a 25-13, 29-27 victory over Charles City.

Kennedy spikers slip by Warriors, 3-1

The Cedar Rapids Washington volleyball team tied Kennedy in total points Tuesday night, 95-95, in their Mississippi Valley Conference match at Washington.

Unfortunately for the Warriors, they didn't win enough of the big points to claim a victory.

Kennedy trimmed Washington, 29-27, 16-25, 25-20, 25-23, by making a series of clutch plays in the first and fourth games.

It may have been a question of confidence and experience.

The Cougars reached the semifinals of the Class 4A state tournament in 2009, 2010 and 2011. The Warriors, on the other hand, have not played in the state tournament since 1994, before any of the girls on this year's team were born.

Kennedy has been there and done that. Washington is still trying, but Coach Kari Lombardi thinks her club is making progress.

"I think this year's team is better than they think they are," she said. "They have to believe they can do it. They're going to get there."

The Warriors led 24-22, 24-23, 26-25 and 27-26 in the first game, needing just one point on each occasion to take a 1-0 lead, but the Cougars had the answer each time and won the opener 29-27 on a block by 6-foot-1 Jordan Calef at the net.

The fourth and final game was tight as well. It was tied 15-15, 17-17 and 19-19 before Kennedy prevailed 25-23 on a kill by Lexi Rogers, one of 19 kills for the 6-foot senior.

"She's a great player," said Lombardi.

Washington played well for much of the night with 6-footer Dani Franklin and 5-foot-9 Aleena Hobbs smashing the ball. "I call Aleena the stealth bomber," said Lombardi.

However, the Warriors hurt themselves with some errant serves and other miscues at the worst possible times.

"It's hard to overcome them (the Cougars) and yourself," said Lombardi. "It's the little things we have to fix."

Kennedy needed five games to dispose of Xavier last week. And just like Washington's performance Tuesday night, the Saints hurt themselves at inopportune times in that contest.

It appears the gap may be closing between Kennedy and other teams in the Metro, at least at this point in the season as the Cougars replace key parts from 2011.

"There is more parity," said Kennedy Coach Michelle Goodall. "I think there's a lot of great athletes in our city."

Rogers thinks the Cougars play their best volleyball when their energy level is high. When their energy dips, she said, so does their performance.

However, Rogers does not think the gap has necessarily shrunk between Kennedy and other Metro clubs.

"We've had a slow start this season and it kind of looks that way," she said. "But at the end of the season we'll play to our potential."

Kennedy raised its records to 10-7 overall and 2-2 in the conference. Washington fell to 8-5 overall and 1-3 in the MVC.