Rams’ season ends in state quarterfinals

The Glenwood volleyball season came to an end Monday night in the Class 4A state quarterfinals at the Xtream Arena in Coralville.

The No. 6 seeded Rams struggled to get into a rhythm offensively and the No. 3 seeded and defending state champion North Polk had no such trouble in a 25-11, 25-13, 25-16 sweep victory in a swift 62-minute match.

“We’re an offensive team and that was what we didn’t establish tonight,” said Glenwood coach Paula Carman after the match. “We had some things misfiring and we just didn’t connect with them consistently enough and I think that was honestly a whole different match. We knew North Scott was going to get swings and we were prepared for that. That wasn’t going to be our focal point. 

“We were going to control our controllables. After we got going in that first set and we couldn’t get our offense established the way we wanted to, that’s what hit us the hardest.”

The Rams got off to a slow start in the first set and found themselves down early and unable to dig out.

“We knew North Scott was good but, like I said in the locker room, we made them look way better than what we should have,” Carman said. “After that first set, ‘we’re better than 11 points’ is the first thing I said, and they all were like ‘yeah.’ You know, North Scott’s a great team and these seniors gave 110%. 

Carman’s pep talk did ignite a quick start and a 4-0 lead in set two, but the Lancer’s size and experience up front made everything difficult for Glenwood.

North Scott’s Abbey Hayes, a Creighton recruit, and McKenzie Moeller were a handful at the net. The two combined for 31 of the Lancers’ 42 kills. As a team, they hit .347 to the Rams’ .088.

Charley Hernandez led Glenwood with 10 kills. Kaylee Wray added eight.

In her post match talk in the locker room, Carman thanked her team, especially her seven seniors, for the hard work and the effort they gave in a season that saw the program win a Hawkeye 10 Conference title, win a school record 36 matches and reach state for the third time in school history.

“That was the hard part,” Carman said. “I think if we would have lost by a lot less points that aspect would have been hard but just saying goodbye to this group, for sure, was hard. Charlie’s been out there for 4 years, Ellie’s been out there for 3 years, Olivia’s been out there. They’re great girls. They’re a lot of fun to coach.”