New coach, same story at Tripoli

CEDAR RAPIDS - Some would shy away from this challenge.

Kerry Merrifield embraces it.

'I'm super-competitive,” he said. 'The biggest challenge was getting to know these kids. I knew the volleyball was there.”

Volleyball excellence has been at Tripoli for the better part of two decades. Teresa Kehe built the program into a small-school dynasty, then Will Baumann maintained the standard.

Now it's Merrifield's opportunity. So far, so good.

The fourth-ranked Panthers dominated in all facets and swept No. 5 New London, 25-13, 25-11, 25-21, in a Class 1A quarterfinal at the state tournament Wednesday night at the U.S. Cellular Center.

Cheyanne Moore collected 15 kills and Kennedy Drewis added 11, staking the Panthers (27-13) to a 41-18 kill advantage and sending them to a semifinal date with No. 1 Fort Madison Holy Trinity (46-4).

First serve is 6 p.m. Thursday.

Tripoli is in the tournament for the 16th time in 17 years. The Panthers had their five-year title run snapped last year by Central Lyon in the quarterfinals.

'We've already gone past what we did last year,” Moore said. 'It all worked tonight. When you get good passes and good sets, you'll get a good outcome.”

Moore had seven kills in the opening set, and the Panthers were the superior team from start to finish.

'We had trouble with our serve reception and our defense quite a bit,” said Tigers Coach Maureen Heath, whose team closed at 35-8. 'The ball was in our backcourt quite a bit.”

Merrifield coached 11 seasons at Don Bosco, then stepped aside to coach club ball. When Baumann stepped aside to coach at Nevada, Merrifield stepped in.

'Here we are,” he said. 'It feels I've been coaching these girls for years.”

Peyton Benson distributed 29 assists.

Jorgi Krieger and Emily Parks had seven kills apiece for New London.

l Comments: (319) 368-8857; jeff.linder@thegazette.com