One of the premiere regular season events in Iowa High School Volleyball delivered come-from-behind victories, improbable upsets, and none of the four hosting teams advancing to the final four in opening night action of the North Iowa Cedar League Volleyball Tournament Tuesday. #6 (2A) Aplington-Parkersburg, #11 (2A) Grundy Center, #1 (2A) Denver and Wapsie Valley advanced from their pods to Thursday’s semifinals.
In matches that aired on 99 The Wave at the pod hosted by #5 (2A) South Hardin, the Falcons earned sweeps of both the Tigers and #15 (2A) Jesup. Against the J-Hawks, the Falcons overcame early miscues and several service errors in a 25-23, 25-13 win.
In the opener, South Hardin easily beat Oelwein 25-7, 25-9.
In the quarterfinal, the Falcons fought back from an 18-11 deficit in set 1 for a 28-26 win, followed by a 25-21 win to earn the sweep in a rematch of last year’s regional final. Senior libero Adria Neymeyer says the team kept its composure after committing numerous errors in the first set.
“Aggressive serves, although they were out, they were aggressive,” Neymeyer says. “But us on the court, everyone stepped in and led today. Even the people that don’t usually, they stepped in. Everyone’s energy was up. So just the leading and energy is what kept us all together and what kept us motivated to do the next ball and do it great like we did the previous one.”
Advancing to their second straight conference tournament semifinal, Coach Candace Kleespies says the team’s resilience is unmatched.
“I think that it all honestly started last year, honestly this first night of conference last year against Union, I honestly feel like,” Kleespies says. “And they just had that mentality of ‘we’re not giving in, we’re not giving up, we’re gonna just fight as much as we can until the last whistle.’ They’ve really carried that over from last year. I wish we weren’t having to dig and fight as much as we are, but you know, that that’s gonna happen sometimes. To come out and fight like they did against such a quality team, and then to come back and get that first set was just a huge momentum boost.”
Peyton Klooster led with 10 kills and the team overcame seven service errors.
South Hardin coach John Teske says the margins were slim.
“Very evenly matched across the whole game,” Teske says. “So to try and find a big difference, it’s really hard to do. I would say they were able to hit down the line a little bit into zone one. We took care of that a little bit later on. And we just needed to make that move a little bit earlier and be able to execute it. And I think things would have changed a little bit, at least gave us a chance, but those little things sometimes make a big difference and sometimes they don’t.”
Ava Salvo led the Tigers with eight kills.
In possibly the most shocking result in the tournament’s four-year history, unranked Wapsie Valley won 2-0 at #4 (2A) Dike-New Hartford, 25-21, 25-19. After receiving a first-round bye, the Wolverines lost their first-ever conference tournament match in the quarterfinals. The Warriors beat AGWSR 25-13, 25-15 in the opener in Dike.
Grundy Center advanced to their second straight conference tournament semifinal by winning both matches in La Porte City. The Spartans beat Hudson 27-25, 17-25, 15-13 in the first round, coming back from a 12-10 deficit in set 3. In the quarterfinal, the Spartans beat Union 25-22, 25-21.
In the pod at #13 (2A) Sumner-Fredericksburg, #1 (2A) Denver beat #15 (1A) Gladbrook-Reinbeck 25-7, 25-21 in the first round. In an extremely close quarterfinal, the Cyclones came back from down a set to beat the hosts 19-25, 25-19, 15-13.
The semifinal and championship rounds will be held at Denver on Thursday. The Falcons and Cyclones will meet in the opener, followed by Grundy Center taking on Wapsie Valley. Those matches will air on 99 The Wave.
Those who lost in the quarterfinals will play in Dike. The Wolverines will take on Union and South Hardin will play Sumner-Fredericksburg.
AGWSR will travel to Hudson to take on the Pirates, and Jesup will play Gladbrook-Reinbeck.
A consolation triangular will be held at Waterloo Columbus, which will also include East Marshall and Oelwein.
Thursday’s action will begin at 5:00 p.m. The four-team pods will follow Tuesday’s format, where those who lose in the first round will play the evening’s third match, and the first round winners will play in the finale.
Aplington-Parkersburg junior Ava Eddy:
Aplington-Parkersburg senior Adria Neymeyer:
Aplington-Parkersburg coach Candace Kleespies:
South Hardin coach John Teske:
