Wapello, IA- Volleyball is back in the swing of things with Wapello hosting a tournament yesterday that featured two state tournament hopefuls in Holy Trinity Catholic and Burlington Notre Dame. It was an exhibition of dominance by both squads until the Crusaders met the Nikes.
Holy Trinity Catholic, ranked #2 in the last Class 1A rankings, swept the three teams they faced two sets to zero. In match number one, Natalie Randolph led the charge against Columbus Community with 15 assists, five aces, and seven digs—all team leads. Presley Myers was the top hitter with a kill efficiency of 0.857. The Crusaders allowed a total of five points in the two sets, winning 21-3 and 21-2.
Central Lee played the Crusaders tough but were unable to usurp them as they lost the two sets, 21-10 and 21-18. Randolph (6 assists) and Anna Bendlage (5 assists) shared the effort offensively as Randolph and Myers tied for the team lead in kills with four apiece. Randolph was still hot from the service line with three more aces to her total.
Kylie Fortune had a nice game for the Hawks with four kills and four blocks, but it was Taylor Jones who led the way with six kills on offense. Central Lee could not generate an ace against the Crusader defense.
In Holy Trinity Catholic’s penultimate match of the night, Wilton gave the Crusaders a fight in set one losing 21-16 but wilted in set two, falling 21-9. Bendlage led the Crusaders in assists with eight as Randolph took the lead on the attack with a team-leading six kills. Randolph’s two aces brought her grand total to 10 aces on the night. Adalyn Kruse, a freshman, also clocked two aces.
Burlington Notre Dame was close to replicating what the Crusaders accomplished but fell short losing one set in their three matches. The Nikes sprinted past Keota, 21-3 and 21-12, with Lauren Krieger notching 18 assists and two aces in the win. Aviana West collected most of the kills with 11 of the 23 going to her stat line.
Game two was a mirror image for the Nikes as they took down English Valleys 21-14 in set one and cruised to a 21-5 victory in set two. The Nikes commanded the game from the service line as they hammered home seven aces. Addi Brockway and Krieger each tallied two aces. Krieger also tallied 11 assists in the win.
Wapello gave Notre Dame their hardest match of the night. The Nikes took set one 21-13 with the Arrows leveling the match winning set two 21-17. However, the inexorable Nikes won set three 15-6, going undefeated in the tournament. Krieger almost had a double-double with 21 assists and nine digs. West slammed the ball for 11 kills in 34 attempts. Taryn Stephens aided the effort with two aces.
The two concluded the night with one team to end the tournament undefeated. That team was Holy Trinity Catholic in another sweep: 25-23 and 25-15.
Anna Bendlage fed Myers for 10 kills and Mary Kate Bendlage for 8. Myers proved her metal at the service line as well notching 4 aces. Krieger led the way for the Nikes with 16 assists, Stephens finished with 10 kills.
Holy Trinity Catholic is now 7-3 on the season, while the Nikes tout an 8-6 record. The two teams are set to meet in Fort Madison on September 5th.
Central Lee struggled winning just one set in their two other matches against Columbus and Wilton. Against the Wildcats, they split the first two sets, but it was the Wildcats who slipped past the Hawks 15-13 to win the match. Jones tallied seven kills and three blocks in the loss.
Wilton swept the Hawks, 21-14 and 21-13. Jones led the team with four kills and tallied a block in the loss.
Central Lee is now 1-6 on the season as the Hawks gear up to face off against Van Buren County tomorrow, August 31st, on the road.
For the other teams: Columbus finished the tournament 1-2, Wilton went 3-1, Keota grabbed one win in three games, English Valleys finished winless, and Wapello grabbed two wins out of their three matches.