By: Nathan Bloechl — sports@kilj.com
Hottest Team in State, Notre Dame Rolls Past No. 3 Jays:
As if it was any secret, the No. 7 Notre Dame Nike volleyball team might be pretty good.
Led by ferocious hitters and pesky defensive specialists, the Nikes rolled to their 13th straight win last night, sweeping the No. 3 Gehlen Catholic Jays in a Class 1A State Semifinal last night at the Alliant Energy PowerHouse in Cedar Rapids.
In their first ever trip to the State Tournament, not only did the Nikes look like they belong — they looked like the best team in the field.
Notre Dame rolled to 25-19, 25-18, and 25-20 wins over Gehlen Catholic, one night after the Jays ousted fellow Super Conference rival New London in five games.
The Jays had entered the semifinal round winners of 20 straight games.
Katy Stephens and Josie Bentz paced the Nike offensive onslaught — the junior tandem finished with 14 kills each, at times making it look all too easy.
Jenna Bentz led the way with 32 assists, while senior libero Karli Artman ended the night with 14 kills, Josie Bentz chipped in with 11.
Now, Notre Dame will hook up with the fourth-seeded Rebels of Gladbrook-Reinbeck who swept No. 8 Council Bluffs St. Albert, last night.
The matchup will be the first ever between the two programs.
The Rebels are led offensively by senior hitter Saari Kuehl, who is averaging a robust 4.5 kills per set — she also leads the team with 4 digs per set.
Gladbrook-Reinbeck will enter tonight’s State Final with a record of 34-2, the Nikes are 18-5.
First serve is expected to be around 8:00 p.m. and you can listen along on KILJ-FM and online at kilj.com.
IGHSAU State Volleyball Day 3 Scoreboard:
Class 5A
No. 5 Iowa City Liberty 3, No. 1 Dowling Catholic 2
No. 2 Ankeny 3, No. 3 Pleasant Valley 2
Class 4A
No. 1 Cedar Rapids Xavier 3, No. 4 Western Dubuque 0
No. 6 West Delaware 3, No. 7 Gilbert 0
Class 3A
No. 1 Osage 3, No. 4 Davenport Assumption 1
No. 3 Mount Vernon 3, No. 2 Clarion-Goldfield-Dows 0
Class 2A
No. 5 Denver 3, No. 1 Western Christian 0
No. 3 Dike-New Hartford 3, No. 2 Wilton 0
Class 1A:
No. 4 Gladbrook-Reinbeck 3, No. 8 Council Bluffs St. Albert 0
No. 7 Notre Dame 3, No. 3 Gehlen Catholic 0
SEC Announces All-Conference Volleyball Teams:
The Southeast Conference has announced their 2020 All-Conference volleyball teams, Mount Pleasant Director of Athletics Scott Lamm has announced.
Mount Pleasant had two first team choices:
- Senior Karysn Lamm
- Junior Kenna Lamm
Karsyn Lamm also split the Conference Player of the Year Award with Burlington senior Madison Bunton, who was also named a First-Team All Conference selection.
Junior Ralyn Seberg was named Second-Team All Conference for Dave Streeter’s unit this year, while Elli Liechty and Maddie Moore were both named Honorable Mention All Conference.
Mount Pleasant finished first in the conference tournament this year, before falling in the Class 4A Regional Semifinals to Burlington.
The Panthers ended their season with a record of 15-17.
Breece Hall: Heisman Candidate?
Iowa State coach Matt Campbell will let other people decide if running back Breece Hall is a Heisman Trophy candidate.
With 901 yards, Hall is currently second in the country in rushing yards.
The Cyclones are 4-2 overall this year as they prepare for a weekend tilt against Baylor.
Head Coach Matt Campbell would still like to see his team develop more of a killer instinct.
“That’s execution at the highest level in the most critical moments, it’s easy to say it but so hard to do it — and that’s why there’s so few of the elite of the elite that live out there” Campbell explained.
Saturday’s game will kick at 6:00 p.m. at Jack Trice Stadium in Ames.