Cedar Falls downs Prairie in MVC final

DUBUQUE - They had played some of the state's best competition for nine straight hours.

They had prevailed in consecutive three-set matches.

Yeah, the Prairie Hawks were tired.

'I think so,” Coach Lynnette Stecklein said after Class 5A third-ranked Cedar Falls stopped No. 7 Prairie, 26-24, 25-19, in the championship match of the Mississippi Valley Conference volleyball tournament Saturday at Dubuque Senior's Nora Gymnasium.

'Your legs are gone, then your mind starts to go a little bit. We'd have loved to have won this tournament, but we are very happy with our day.”

The Hawks (30-6) appeared to have the first set in hand, but Cedar Falls (33-4) battled back from a 23-18 deficit, and erased three set points to steal it.

'We lost concentration there for just a little while,” said Prairie's Kate Busswitz. 'Then after we lost that set, we weren't sure where go to from there.”

Prairie righted the ship for a bit, taking a 6-2 lead in the second set, but the Tigers went on a 10-2 run and took control for good.

'We really came together as a team,” said the Tigers' Alicia Harrington. 'We got behind, but we had each other's backs. I'm very proud of what we accomplished today.”

The tournament featured eight ranked teams, and those eight teams made up the championship bracket.

Three of the final four teams were Metro schools, but Cedar Falls was the last team standing.

Cedar Falls swept No. 11 Linn-Mar, 25-19, 25-12, in the semifinals. Prairie outlasted No. 9 Cedar Rapids Kennedy, 20-25, 25-22, 15-12.

Kennedy (26-9) held an 11-10 edge in the final set after three consecutive kills by Anna Fluent, but Prairie scored the next four points to turn the tide for good.

'All season long, we've been wanting to play each other,” Busswitz said of the Hawks and the Cougars. 'We know those girls. It's an intracity rival.”

Since Day 1, this has shaped up as potentially the best season in Prairie's history. The Hawks upset No. 1 Bettendorf in the MVC-MAC Challenge in August. They have been ranked high ever since. They won their first divisional title since 2008, and now they've reached the MVC tournament finals.

'If we don't have confidence now ... ,” Stecklein said. 'We got better today. We played some of the best teams in the state, and we made it to the final match.”

Prairie swept its three pool matches, then got past No. 13 Dubuque Hempstead in a three-set quarterfinal.

Kennedy won its pool, then handled No. 14 Iowa City High, 25-11, 25-16, in the quarterfinals. Linn-Mar got to the semifinals by handling No. 12 Iowa City West, 25-23, 25-14 in the first round of bracket play.

MISSISSIPPI VALLEY CONFERENCE TOURNAMENT

At Dubuque Senior & Dubuque Hempstead

Pool A

Teams - 1. Iowa City West 3-0, 2. Dubuque Hempstead 2-1, 3. Waterloo East 1-2, 4. Dubuque Senior 0-3.

Iowa City West def. Waterloo East, 21-8, 21-16

Dubuque Hempstead def. Dubuque Senior, 21-8, 21-11

Iowa City West def. Dubuque Senior, 21-16, 21-8

Dubuque Hempstead def. Waterloo East, 21-10, 24-22

Waterloo East def. Dubuque Senior, 21-16, 21-15

Iowa City West def. Dubuque Hempstead, 21-16, 7-21, 15-10

Pool B

Teams - 1. C.R. Kennedy 3-0, 2. Dubuque Wahlert 2-1, 3. C.R. Xavier 1-2, 4. C.R. Washington 0-3.

Dubuque Wahlert def. C.R. Xavier, 21-15, 21-11

C.R. Kennedy def. C.R. Washington, 21-3, 21-17

C.R. Xavier def. C.R. Washington, 21-15, 21-12

C.R. Kennedy def. Dubuque Wahlert, 25-23, 24-22

Dubuque Wahlert def. C.R. Washington, 21-9, 21-11

C.R. Kennedy def. C.R. Xavier, 21-9, 21-9

Pool C

Teams - 1. C.R. Prairie 3-0, 2. Linn-Mar 2-1, 3. Waterloo West 0-3.

C.R. Prairie def. Waterloo West, 21-11, 21-15

Linn-Mar def. Waterloo West, 21-16, 21-14

C.R. Prairie def. Linn-Mar, 12-21, 21-16, 15-10

Pool D

Teams - 1. Cedar Falls 3-0, 2. Iowa City High 1-2, 3. C.R. Jefferson 0-3.

Cedar Falls def. C.R. Jefferson, 18-21, 21-12, 15-4

Iowa City High def. C.R. Jefferson, 21-7, 21-16

Cedar Falls def. Iowa City High, 21-16, 21-13

Pool C-D Crossover Matches

C.R. Prairie def. C.R. Jefferson, 21-18, 21-14

Cedar Falls def. Waterloo West, 21-4, 21-9

Linn-Mar def. Iowa City High, 21-19, 21-19

Consolation Quarterfinals

C.R. Jefferson def. C.R. Washington, 25-13, 25-15

Waterloo West def. Dubuque Senior, 25-23, 25-23

Consolation Semifinals

Waterloo East def. C.R. Jefferson, 25-20, 25-23

C.R. Xavier def. Waterloo West, 33-31, 25-16

Consolation Final

Waterloo East def. C.R. Xavier, 25-22, 25-20

Quarterfinals

Linn-Mar def. Iowa City West, 25-23, 25-14

Cedar Falls def. Dubuque Wahlert, 25-16, 25-23

C.R. Kennedy def. Iowa City High, 25-11, 25-16

C.R. Prairie def. Dubuque Hempstead, 25-22, 22-25, 15-11

Semifinals

Cedar Falls def. Linn-Mar, 25-19, 25-12

C.R. Prairie def. C.R. Kennedy, 20-25, 25-22, 15-12

Championship

Cedar Falls def. C.R. Prairie, 26-24, 25-19

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