Cougars closing in on an MVC divisional title

IOWA CITY - They are well-versed on championship history, or lack thereof.

'We've never won (a Mississippi Valley Conference divisional) championship,” said Cedar Rapids Kennedy's Macy Anderson. 'Well, we tied for one in 2006, but we've never won one outright.

'Now we have a shot.”

A really, really good shot.

Class 5A fifth-ranked Kennedy put itself firmly in the driver's seat in the MVC Valley Division race by sweeping No. 6 Iowa City West, 25-21, 25-21, 25-15, Tuesday night at West High School.

Anderson collected 17 kills, and the Cougars regularly scored big on Tianna Drahn's serve as they emphatically improved to 13-5 overall, 4-0 in the division.

All of the teams closely pursuing them, they've already vanquished.

'It's really good to have that upper hand,” Drahn said. 'We're confident we can do it. We're going to go for it.”

The Cougars were in control enough that Coach Michelle Goodall didn't call a timeout all night. Not even when West (13-5, 2-1) was out front 12-5 in the middle set.

'I'm confident in my kids, probably to a fault,” Goodall said. 'I always think we're going to be OK.”

Kennedy climbed out of a 14-10 hole in the opener behind Drahn's serve, then went on a run after that 12-5 deficit in Game 2, scoring the next seven points.

West regained the lead at 21-19, but Kennedy scored the final six points of the set.

Anderson was a constant all match, with six kills in the opener, six more in the second set and five in the finale.

'Our offense really seemed to be working,” said Anderson, who will play at Nebraska-Omaha next fall. 'But I honestly feel like we can do a little better. We can always play sharper.”

Drahn didn't serve an ace Tuesday, but kept the Women of Troy off-balance most of the night. She served seven straight points to put the match away at 21-11 in Game 3.

'She's a really aggressive server,” Anderson said. 'She doesn't hold anything back.”

Drahn said, '(Assistant coach Tim) Johnson does a great job with the placement of our serves. He's the brains behind our serving.”

'Kennedy runs a good, fast offense, and they put pressure on us,” said West Coach Randy Dolson. 'I can't count the number of unforced errors we had. I lost track. Volleyball's simple, it's about passing and serve receive. They had us in scramble mode all night.”

Brinley Milbrath added nine kills, Paige Franck eight for the Cougars. Anna Fluent distributed 37 assists.

Emily Halverson led West with 10 kills.

CEDAR RAPIDS KENNEDY 3, IOWA CITY WEST 0 (25-21, 25-21, 25-15)

At West High School

Serving: Kennedy 65-72 (.903), West 55-59 (.932); Aces: Kennedy 2 (Paige Franck, Madi Palmer), West 2 (Madi Ford, Maddie Fay); Kills: Kennedy 49 (Macy Anderson 17), West 32 (Emily Halverson 10); Assists: Kennedy 44 (Anna Fluent 37), West 30 (Fay 23); Blocks: Kennedy 4 (Anderson 2), West 5 (Halverson, Emily Tauchen 2).

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