Rams’ run ends in state first round
CEDAR RAPIDS - In its first state volleyball appearance in school history, Glenwood battled and never quit but came up short in an upset bid of No. 1 seeded Sergeant Bluff-Luton in the Class 4A quarterfinals at U.S. Cellular Center in Cedar Rapids last Tuesday.
The Rams dropped the first two sets 27-25, 25-17 before bouncing back for a set three 25-23 winner Glenwood coach Chelsey Hirt called one of the “best things” to happen to her team all season.
“I say that because it shows we can play with these tough teams, the one that’s ranked No. 1 and you can take a set from them,” Hirt said of her team’s game four win. “It doesn’t matter what their ranking is or who they are and that really told the girls if we keep fighting, it will happen for us.”
Unfortunately for the Rams, it happened for the Warriors in the next set. SB-L got out to a 7-1 start and led by as many as nine in a 25-18 win in the fourth and final set. The Warriors would go on to win the Class 4A state title with a 25-20, 25-14, 25-18 sweep of Western Dubuque. Glenwood notched the lone set victory over SB-L in the state tournament.
Glenwood had its chances early against Sergeant Bluff-Luton. They led 18-13 and then 23-20 and then 24-23 in set one but the Warriors showed why they were the top seed. They scored seven of the last nine points to take the momentum flipping win.
Hirt said she thought her team got a little complacent up 23-20 in the first set, and it cost them against a very good team.
“With a team (Sergeant Bluff-Luton) like this, you can’t ever feel like that,” Hirt said. “We had them 18-13 and they still came back and got us. We have to realize and remember these teams at the state tournament aren’t your typical teams back home we can usually take when we get up. These teams can comeback on you and Sergeant Bluff has a lot of weapons.”
The Warrior weapons racked up 64 kills – the most against Glenwood this season – while hitting .239 as a team. Kenzie Foley fired in 27 kills of her own. And their defense was nothing to shrug about either, making every Ram point tough to come by.
The Rams hit a respectable .287 with 36 kills but time and again, the Warriors got under shots Glenwood had grown accustomed to landing. Scarborough and Taryn Bertini had nine kills each to lead the Rams.
“They’re the most sound team we’ve played all year,” Hirt said. “There’s teams with girls with just as potential as this team they (Sergeant Bluff) just have more of them.”
Yet, every set was of the “could have gone either way” variety.
Even when down 2-0, Glenwood didn’t fold up and call it a season. They battled just as hard in set three and set one.
The Warriors led in the fourth 9-8 before Glenwood rattled off four straight points as part of a 7-2 run to take a 15-11 lead. They would never trail again in the 25-23 winner.
“That’s the thing with this team: they don’t give up very easily,” Hirt said. “You see the roller coaster of emotions, but the heart is always there.”
After the loss, Hirt spoke with her team in the locker room for nearly 10 minutes. Emotions, she said, were all over the place.
“People are upset, a lot of them are frustrated making it this far and wanting to make to take that first round is always what you want. We got put with Sergeant Bluff, number one, and we had a lot of heart and belief going into this. I’m super proud of these girls for being able to fight with them and show them what Glenwood volleyball is.”
Glenwood will graduate nine seniors from this year’s squad that set a new school record for wins (30) and numerous individual records.
“With nine seniors including our managers, it’s hard as a coach I think sometimes with so many seniors and playing time is always hard and being able to put the best players on the court is hard. As a coach you want all of them to play. I’m just super proud of all these girls for sticking with us all season. The ones who didn’t see the court all the time were still really energetic and helpful for the program and cheering on their teammates. At practice I told them the other day,
‘You don’t know how much you do for our team every day because we have to practice against you and you’re making us a good team.’ I can only say how proud of them I am. They really set the stage for this program and for next year.”
As for next year, the Rams could be a contender to return to Cedar Rapids. They return two of its top three hitters in Scarborough and Brynlee Arnold and top two setters in Kelly Embray and Grace Boles.
“I’m already thinking about next year,” Hirt said. “I was thinking about next year in the fall, right when we start. I’m always looking to see what’s next and what we have and what do we to do to build for next season at the same time.
“With this team we had some injuries this year and some underclassmen stepped up. Knowing they could do that in a crunch time moment was really key for to see how good we can be next year.”