Walker’s fabulous fall continues

CEDAR RAPIDS - Multisport athletes are common. Multisport athletes, in one season, not so much.

What Kate Walker has done this fall, now that's extraordinary. And she's not done yet.

Walker collected a match-high 15 kills and 14 digs as fifth-ranked Red Oak swept No. 6 Sioux Center, 26-24, 26-24, 25-18, in a Class 3A quarterfinal at the state volleyball tournament Wednesday morning at the U.S. Cellular Center.

An outside hitter, Walker tried the volleyball/cross country combo this fall and reached state competition in both sports. She placed 31st in the Class 2A state cross country meet Nov. 1 at Fort Dodge.

'It wasn't nearly as hard as I thought it would be,” she said. 'Volleyball's hard, so I was in good condition.

'It's definitely been a special experience. It's been so much fun.”

The Tigers (34-7) face No. 1 Mount Vernon (32-7) in a semifinal at 2 p.m. Thursday. They advanced by rallying from a 22-20 deficit in the first set and a 23-21 hole in the second.

'Getting that second game, that was definitely key,” Walker said. 'It's hard to keep fighting back, but we did it.”

Grace Blomstedt had a kill and two aces in the Tigers' run at the end of Game 1, then Sierra Athen's ace won it.

Sioux Center (31-9) had set point at 24-23 in the second set, but two Warriors errors and a kill by Athen turned it around.

Game 3 was a mismatch, with the Tigers scoring the first six points and building a 23-6 lead before Sioux Center made a run that came far too late.

Blomstedt added eight kills for the winners.

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