Washington Volleyball

Warriors go 3-1 at Iowa City West tourney

IOWA CITY -- Cedar Rapids Washington went 3-1 Saturday at the Caroline Found Volleyball Extravaganza at Iowa City West.

The Warriors went 3-0 in pool play, scoring straight-set wins over Pella Christian, West Des Moines Dowling and Davenport North.

Washington was upended in three sets by Waterloo Columbus in the championship bracket quarterfinals. The Warriors won the first set, 25-14, but dropped the next two, 25-20 and 15-13.

Host Iowa City West beat Dyersville Beckman in two sets in the championship match.

CAROLINE FOUND
VOLLEYBALL EXTRAVAGANZA
(At Iowa City West)

Pool A - 1. (tie) Marshalltown 2-1, Beckman 2-1, Iowa City West 2-1, 4. Benton 0-3

Pool B - 1. CR Washington 3-0, 2. WDM Dowling 2-1, 3. Davenport North 1-2, 4. Pella Christian 0-3

Pool C - 1. Mount Vernon 3-0, 2. Dubuque Wahlert 2-1, 3. Waterloo Columbus 1-2, 4. Davenport Central 0-3

CR Washington pool scores
Washington def. Pella Christian, 23-21, 21-10
Washington def. WDM Dowling, 21-11, 21-13
Washington def. Davenport North, 21-5, 21-18

Championship Bracket
Quarterfinals
Waterloo Columbus def. CR Washington, 14-25, 25-20, 15-13
Beckman def. Wahlert, 18-25, 25-21, 15-5
Mount Vernon def. WDM Dowling, 25-16, 23-25, 15-9
Iowa City West def. Marshalltown, 25-8, 26-24

Semifinals
Beckman def. Waterloo Columbus, 21-25, 25-21, 16-14
Iowa City West def. Mount Vernon, 25-12, 26-28, 15-11

Championship
Iowa City West def. Beckman, 25-21, 25-18

Warriors ranked No. 10 in volleyball poll

The surging Cedar Rapids Xavier High School volleyball team jumped three spots to seventh in the IGHSAU Class 4A volleyball rankings Thursday.

The Saints have gotten off to a fast start this season with a 7-1 record. On Tuesday night they defeated Cedar Falls, then ranked No.6 in Class 5A.

Cedar Rapids Kennedy has gotten off to a slow start against strong competition and fell out of the Class 5A rankings Thursday. The Cougars were ranked ninth last week.

The Washington Warriors, who were not ranked last week, climbed into the Class 5A rankings Thursday in the No.10 spot with a 5-2 record.

The Marion Indians (4-2) remained 14th in the Class 4A poll.

CLASS 4A

1. Heelan (4-2), 2. Charles City (8-0), 3. North Scott (8-1), 4. Harlan (9-3), 5. Waverly-Shell Rock (9-2), 6. Wahlert (2-1), 7. Xavier (7-1), 8. Solon (8-1), 9. Fairfield (4-0), 10. Maquoketa (7-3), 11. West Delaware (8-2), 12. LeMars (3-0), 13. Lewis Central (4-2), 14. Marion (4-2), 15. Newton (7-4).

CLASS 5A

1. Iowa City High (5-0), 2. Hempstead (8-0), 3. Ankeny (7-1), 4. Dowling (11-1), 5. Urbandale (10-1), 6. Pleasant Valley (5-1), 7. Muscatine (7-1), 8. Davenport Assumption (7-2), 9. Cedar Falls (5-3), 10. Washington (5-2).

Washington spikers sweep Prairie, 3-0

Hanna Reese collected 30 assists Tuesday night and Aleena Hobbs had nine kills as Washington swept a Mississippi Valley Conference volleyball match against Prairie, 25-16, 25-22, 25-18, at the Washington gym.

Kellie Walters had 10 digs for the Warriors, who raised their season record to 5-2. Dani Franklin had four aces and Reese contributed three blocks.

Saints claim volleyball title at Washington

The back of Xavier volleyball coach Barb Sullivan’s jersey reads, “No limits.”

And after her Saints defeated Class 4A third-ranked Solon Saturday afternoon to win the Washington Warrior 12-team tournament, she’s even higher on her veteran squad’s prospects this season.

Ranked 10th in 4A coming into the 21st annual tourney, the Xavier girls dropped their opening match in pool play to Solon but then sailed back to win their next four outings to force a rematch in the championship final.

They took the deciding match in three sets, 21-18, 13-21, 15-10, denying the perennially powerful Spartans their second straight Warrior Invitational title. Solon had defeated Marion last year in the finals.

“In the first tournament of the year like this, you like to get a sense of where your team’s at,” said Sullivan, now in her fourth year of guiding the Saints. “There was a lot of good competition today, so it was a good test.

"And I thought the girls played really well. They have excellent team chemistry. Instead of trying to be stars, they really play for each other. It was a great team effort.”

After losing to Solon 21-13, 21-11 to start the day, Sullivan said she tweaked the lineup a bit.

The Saints proceeded to take straight-set wins over Dubuque Senior, North Fayette and Oskaloosa before meeting Class 5A 10th-ranked Johnston in the semifinals. Against the experienced Emily Hanson-led Dragons, they eked out the opening game 21-19 and then coasted 21-12.

Solon reached the final, meanwhile, by cruising through pool play without losing a set.

The Spartans had a tussle with rival Marion in the quarterfinals, winning 21-15, 26-24, and faced a sterner test yet against host Washington in the semis. They squeaked by the Warriors 23-21 in the first game and were crushed in the second, 21-6. Solon took the rubber game, 15-7.

“They have a great team,” said Washington Coach Kari Lombardi, whose team opened up with four straight wins, including a two-set upset of Johnston. “Solon has a lot of big girls and some very good athletes.”

First-year Spartan Coach Peter Gustin said he was pleased with his team’s effort, despite suffering the first loss of the year.

“They played hard all day, but by the end I thought they were a little tired,” he said. “We came out real sluggish in the first game of the final. We played our game in the second one, but in the last one we just couldn’t sustain it.”

The Saints’ Sullivan, on the other hand, said her girls put it all together when it counted against Solon. Facing a rugged front line, Kasey VandenBosch smashed seven kills past the Spartans and Audrey Richards had six. Kara Zwanziger recorded three blocks.

Sarah Homan led the team with 21 assists in the final, while Halle Heying notched 15 digs.

“Our motto this year,” said Sullivan, “is, ‘Mary, we say yes to the impossible.’ Right now, the girls are rolling along with that.”