Spartans loud, proud in first round

CEDAR RAPIDS - Peter Gustin didn't like what he was hearing - or, to be more accurate - what he wasn't hearing at practice Monday.

Up went the volume on the Solon Spartans' game-day CD.

'We hadn't been communicating really well in practice,” said setter Taylor Nearad. 'So we had some loud music, and that made us talk a lot louder.”

Problem solved.

More vocal than previously, the second-rated Spartans handled No. 8 Iowa Falls-Alden, 25-17, 25-15, 25-16, in a Class 3A quarterfinal at the state volleyball tournament Tuesday night at the U.S. Cellular Center.

'I like to play with a lot of noise,” said Gustin, the Spartans' coach. 'Whether I was a player or a coach, you just can't mimic it.

'Sometimes, the kids are vocal. But there's a difference between noise and communication. I thought our new communication was phenomenal tonight.”

The Spartans (31-8) will play in a semifinal at 2 p.m. Thursday against either No. 3 Nevada (37-9) and No. 7 West Liberty (37-5). Those teams play at 10 a.m. Wednesday.

Win Thursday, and the Spartans will advance to the championship match for the third straight year. They were 4A runners-up in 2012 and 2013.

After the first half of the first set, there was minimal drama in this one.

Iowa Falls-Alden (28-11) rattled off five consecutive points to forge a 13-all tie, then it was 14-apiece.

The rest of the match belonged to the Spartans.

Solon pulled away in the opener, scoring 11 of the final 14 points. It controlled the second set, then answered quickly after trailing 4-0 and 5-1 in the finale.

Back-to-back kills by Jordan Smith gave Solon an 8-6 lead, and the margin continued to build.

At 13-9, the Spartans scored the next seven points, and that marked the end for the Cadets (28-11).

'We jut tried to get them out of system,” Nearad said. 'We ran the offense really well.”

Smith led the Spartans with 13 kills. Freshman Grace Keith added nine. Nearad collected 34 assists and 10 digs,

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