Holy Trinity sweeps to the 1A semifinals

CEDAR RAPIDS - Mikaela Foecke doesn't come around very often.

There's not a superstar, and not much size, on the Fort Madison Holy Trinity volleyball team these days. Instead, there's a well-coached, well-oiled nucleus that has high hopes of reaching the same destination.

'We're kind of used to being the little guy out on the court now,” Holy Trinity Coach Melissa Freesmeier said. 'We just want to keep the other team out of system as much as possible.”

Back at state for the seventh straight year, the fifth-ranked Crusaders controlled their Class 1A quarterfinal pretty much the whole way and swept No. 7 Sidney, 25-19, 25-16, 25-21, Wednesday night at the U.S. Cellular Center.

Two years removed from riding Foecke - the Gatorade national player of the year and now a force at the University of Nebraska - to the 1A title, the Crusaders (36-3) have a new identity. But it works.

'We're not very big, and it's hard,” Ali Randolph said. 'We've got to find holes in the defense, and stick to taking big swings and big blocks and stay focused.”

Holy Trinity gets a shot at top-ranked, defending-champion Janesville (33-8) in a semifinal at 6 p.m. Thursday.

'It will be an extremely hard match, but we'll definitely be prepared for it,” Randolph said. 'We'll study up on it on the way home tonight.”

Last year's 1A runner-up, Sidney finished 33-4. The Cowgirls led only briefly, and early, in the first set, then took leads of 16-15 and 17-16 in the third.

Holy Trinity responded with six straight points in the final set for a 22-17 advantage, and that was that.

Randolph collected 15 kills to pace the Crusaders, and Emily Box added 13.

Camryn McClintock had 18 kills for Sidney. Olivia Larsen posted 30 assists.

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