Waterloo Columbus upsets conference foe Sumner-Fredericksburg in state quarterfinals

CEDAR RAPIDS – It was the blueprint for an upset for Waterloo Columbus.

Tough dig after tough dig followed by an opportunistic kill.

The 10th-ranked Sailors rose up time after time and frustrated No. 3 Sumner-Fredericksburg into a 23-25, 29-27, 25-20, 25-20 upset in a Class 2A state volleyball quarterfinal Wednesday at the U.S. Cellular Center.

'Our girls played with heart,' Waterloo Columbus Coach Hanna Nuss said. 'They stopped letting the ball hit the ground. We knew if we took advantage of them and started getting their key players frustrated, we would come out on top today.'

Waterloo Columbus (28-13) will be an unlikely semifinal participant against second-ranked Unity Christian (35-4) Thursday at 4 p.m. The Sailors were just 5-5 in their last 10 matches entering the state tournament, including two sweeps at the hands of fellow North Iowa Cedar League school Sumner-Fredericksburg (33-6).

'They are a very talented team and we knew that coming in,' junior outside hitter Anna Sinnott said. 'They wanted to win it all. … We realized that we needed to give a little more this game. We talked about it in practice. We visualized everything. It all happened and it's just an unbelievable feeling.'

After dropping the first game, Waterloo Columbus watched leads of 19-14 and 23-20 evaporate before needing a rally from a pair of game points. The Sailors closed the game with three straight points for a 29-27 win that evened the match.

'The key point was winning that first set and showing them, 'You can do this,' Nuss said. 'It was just that belief and any time in volleyball it's tough to beat a team three times,' Nuss said.

In Game 3, Waterloo Columbus rallied from an 18-14 deficit with 11 of 13 points in a 25-20 triumph. The Sailors led by as many as six points in Game 4 before the Cougars made a last-gasp effort to reach an 18-18 tie. The Sailors clinched with a final 7-2 burst, capped by Lauren McManus' 16th dig and Sinnott's triumphant 27th kill.

'Just getting any touch up and then having one of our outsides or our middle put it down,' said McManus, a University of Denver recruit. 'It's an unreal feeling.'

Sophomore libero Kate Shannon tallied a whopping 29 digs, while senior setter Sydney Shannon distributed 23 assists. Olivia Fain added 19 assists and 11 digs.

After a 2A state runner-up finish last season and a load of talented returners, Sumner-Fredericksburg falls well short of its goal of a state title. Jaydlin Seehase – a Northern Iowa recruit – collected 19 kills and 12 digs, while fellow senior Becca Pagel added 15 kills and 19 digs. Iowa State recruit Jenna Brandt tallied 46 assists and 13 digs.

'At times girls weren't able to step up and made a few mistakes,' third-year Sumner-Fredericksburg Coach Gwen Pagel said. 'They got some runs and usually we're pretty good about stopping those runs. … It was really hard, we were all at a loss for words. Just not what we expected to happen.'

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