No. 2 Sumner-Fredericksburg finally finishes Grundy Center

CEDAR RAPIDS – On the verge of a quick sweep, No. 2 Sumner-Fredericksburg started getting pushed around.

Down two games to none, seventh-ranked Grundy Center got off the deck and rallied to set up a winner-take-all fifth game in the Class 2A quarterfinal.

'We had to go for it,” Sumner-Fredericksburg senior Madelyn Ackley said. 'We're not going to lose and go home. Gotta push, and know if we have to go to five, then we have to push in that fifth game.”

The Cougars did push back in the fifth game, scoring the first three points before expanding the lead to 10-4. Sophomore Jaydlin Seehase closed it out with her 23rd kill and Sumner-Fredericksburg advanced to the Class 2A semifinal with a 25-18, 25-14, 19-25, 22-25, 15-8, victory over Grundy Center Thursday at the U.S. Cellular Center.

'She's a great hitter for our team,” Ackley said of Seehase. 'She does a good job of putting the ball down when she needs to and she keeps her composure well, too.”

Sumner-Fredericksburg finished Game 1 with six-straight points to win, 25-18. A 9-0 run in Game 2 allowed the Cougars to coast into Game 3 seeking a sweep.

'That's how we should always be playing,” said outside hitter Tori Henniges, who chipped in seven kills and three assists.

Grundy Center libero Riley Sents, a Missouri commit, provided an emotional spark for the Spartans heading to Game 3 as she leaped into the air as her teammates joined her on the court to try for a comeback. With Game 3 knotted at 16-16, the Spartans ran off seven-straight points highlighted by a diving dig by Sents to set teammate Alyssa Mathews up for a kill.

'Our team has a lot of heart and a lot of passion for the game,” Sents said. 'Even though we were down, I knew we'd be fine.”

Sents, the digs leader in 2A and fourth in the state overall, tallied 27 to keep her team in the match. Mathews had five kills and 33 assists.

Grundy Center finished Game 3, 25-19. Game 4 was tied at 22-22 until Grundy Center middle hitter Hana Edgerton tallied a pair of kills and junior Katie Lindeman's ace forced a Game 5.

Lindeman led the Spartans with 18 kills. Edgerton added nine along with three blocks for Grundy Center, which ends its season at 29-10.

'We play for each other,” Sents said. 'We play with heart and I couldn't be more prouder of all my teammates.”

In the decisive fifth set, Becca Pagel had two of her 10 kills. She led the Cougars with 19 assists and 18 digs.

Sumner-Fredericksburg will play third-ranked Western Christian (43-3) in Thursday's 2A semifinal at 4 p.m.