By: Nathan Bloechl — sports@kilj.com
New London Goes Down Swinging, Falls in Five to No. 3 Jays:
No. 6 New London rallied twice but it was ultimately not enough as the third-seeded Jays of Gehlen Catholic prevailed over the Tigers last night in a Class 1A State Volleyball quarterfinal, 3-2.
Gehlen Catholic advances to the semifinals where they will take on the No. 7 seed Burlington Notre Dame Nikes.
New London dropped set on 25-19, but came back punching in set two with a 25-13 victory — one that saw senior hitter Marah Hartrick get hot.
The southpaw finished with 11 kills — a team high — with four of them coming in set two.
The Jays countered with their own impressive set three victory, this of the 25-18 variety.
Senior middle hitter Rachel Langel was ferocious for the Jays in set four, accumulating four of her game-high 15 kills in the set.
With their backs against the wall, New London held serve once again, capturing a 25-14 set four win.
Paris Wilka and Natalie Burden came alive for New London in set four, with Wilka providing several key blocks and Burden chipping in with three of her nine kills.
Burden also finished with 20 digs.
The back and forth affair continued in set five, where the Tigers and Jays traded blows. Tied at 11, Gehlen Catholic used a 4-1 run — closed out by Larissa Sitzmann’s 10th kill as the Jays — held on for their 20th consecutive victory.
New London ends their season 22-8.
Gehlen Catholic-Notre Dame can be heard tonight on KILJ-FM, with first serve set for 8:00 p.m. from the Alliant Energy PowerHouse in Cedar Rapids.
Day 2: IGHSAU State Volleyball Scoreboard:
Class 3A:
No. 4 Davenport Assumption 3, No. 5 Unity Christian 1
No. 3 Mount Vernon 3, No. 6 Union Community 1
Class 2A:
No. 1 Western Christian 3, No. 8 South Hardin 1
No. 5 Denver 3, No. 4 Boyden-Hull 1
No. 2 Wilton 3, No. 7 Van Meter 0
No. 3 Dike-New Hartford 3, No. 6 Sumner-Fredericksburg
Class 1A:
No. 8 Council Bluff St. Albert 3, No. 1 Janesville 1
No. 4 Gladbrook-Reinbeck 3, No. 5 Springville 0
No. 7 Notre Dame BYE (No. 2 Wapsie Valley COVID)
Iowa’s Lockett to Transfer Portal:
Iowa redshirt sophomore receiver Calvin Lockett is the third Iowa player to enter the transfer portal in less than a week.
Lockett joins redshirt freshmen Shadrick Byrd and Yaweh Jeudy, who entered the portal five days ago.
The 6-foot-2 receiver from Largo, Florida, Lockett was a former three-star prospect in the 2018 class.