Starmont fights, but No. 1 Janesville sweeps

CEDAR RAPIDS — For 2 1/2 sets, a young, small, first-time team from Starmont pushed and battled against Janesville.

Then, the Wildcats decided, enough was enough.

'We feel a lot of pressure,' Gillian Gergen said. 'We feel we have to show what being a No. 1 team is all about.'

Which is ... ?

'The Wildcat way,' she said.

Which is ... ?

'Being awesome,' she said. 'Great passes, great sets and great hits.'

The defending-champion Wildcats had enough of all of that to oust the feisty Stars, 25-20, 25-21, 25-13, in a Class 1A quarterfinal at the state volleyball tournament Wednesday night at the U.S. Cellular Center.

Small-school champs in 2013 and 2015, the Wildcats (33-8) are solid favorites to make it three titles in a four-year span. Their next step is Thursday, when they tangle with No. 5 Fort Madison Holy Trinity (36-3) in a semifinal encounter at 6 p.m.

Starmont retired at 32-9, but the Stars left an impression.

'I was really impressed with them, especially their defense,' Gergen said. 'They were really scrappy. But we were finally able to overcome that.'

The Stars led through much of the first set before Janesville scored five straight points for a 21-17 lead, and Starmont didn't get any closer than three points again.

In Game 2, Starmont was right in the Wildcats' rear-view mirror late, creeping within 15-14, 18-17, 19-18, 20-19 and 22-21. But back-to-back kills by Bree Thompson gave Janesville some breathing room, then Alisa Bengen's kill ended it.

A six-point run in the finale made it 19-10, then Janesville cruised from there.

Still, it was a solid effort and a breakout season for Starmont, and the best should be yet to come. Six of the seven starters are sophomores.

'We've dreamed of nothing but getting to state, and our goal was to come her and have fun,' Starmont's Macy Mommer said. 'It was definitely a different atmosphere than we're used to. We didn't shut down right away, and I'm very proud of the girls.'

Thompson led the Wildcats with 17 kills, and Gergen added 10. Bengen collected 32 assists.

Mommer had 13 kills for the Stars.

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