Prairie topples No. 1 Bettendorf

CEDAR RAPIDS - Cedar Rapids Kennedy and Iowa City West flirted with it.

Cedar Rapids Prairie finished it.

Class 5A 12th-ranked Prairie earned a historic upset Thursday night, sweeping No. 1 Bettendorf, 21-18, 21-12, to cap a 3-0 outing at the MVC/MAC Volleyball Challenge at Prairie High School.

'I don't think it has hit any of us,” said Prairie Coach Lynnette Stecklein. 'We made it happen. We got some stops defensively, and when you get that confidence going, you can do something special.”

How special was this? Consider: Bettendorf was last year's 5A state runner-up, boasts a lineup with five Division-I commitments and entered the Prairie contest with a 39-match regular-season winning streak.

'We never talked about how good they were or how high they were ranked,” said senior defensive specialist Rylee Blood. 'We just went out there and killed it.”

Bettendorf (3-1) had played with fire in its first two matches Thursday, escaping from a first-set toe stub to beat No. 5 Kennedy (19-21, 21-16, 15-10) and No. 7 West (15-21, 21-19, 15-12). But the Bulldogs couldn't turn on the switch against Prairie.

The Hawks wouldn't let them.

'We knew we had a lot of potential,” said senior hitter Kate Busswitz. 'It was good to see it come to life.”

After a 4-1 deficit in the first set, Prairie was simply the superior team. A 16-7 run gave the Hawks a 17-11 advantage, and they carried that momentum through the remainder of the match. The Hawks' back row frustrated the Bulldogs with their penchant for keeping the ball off the ground.

Prairie led the second set 11-10 before concluding the upset with a 10-2 run.

It was Prairie's first triumph over a No. 1 team in program history. And it was the first time Prairie went 3-0 at an MVC/MAC Challenge since 2008.

'I'm so proud of them,” Stecklein said. 'You can't change your game plan for who you're playing. Sometimes too much information isn't good. Like I told the girls, ‘Just be us.'”

Prairie's effort highlighted a combined 7-2 effort for the MVC. Kennedy and West both finished 2-1.

What can the Hawks possibly do for an encore?

'I don't know,” Busswitz said. 'The only way from here is up.”

Blood said, 'We're going to keep practicing hard and keep improving. Consistency is the important thing.”

MVC/MAC VOLLEYBALL CHALLENGE

At Cedar Rapids Prairie

Teams - C.R. Prairie 3-0, Bettendorf 2-1, C.R. Kennedy 2-1, Iowa City West 2-1, Pleasant Valley 0-3, North Scott 0-3.

Round 1

Bettendorf def. C.R. Kennedy, 19-21, 21-16, 15-10

C.R. Prairie def. Pleasant Valley, 21-16, 19-21, 15-11

Iowa City West def. North Scott, 21-6, 21-11

Round 2

Bettendorf def. Iowa City West, 15-21, 21-19, 15-12

C.R. Kennedy def. Pleasant Valley, 21-14, 21-19

C.R. Prairie def. North Scott, 21-5, 21-13

Round 3

C.R. Prairie def. Bettendorf, 21-18, 21-12

C.R. Kennedy def. North Scott, 21-14, 21-10

Iowa City West def. Pleasant Valley, 21-19, 16-21, 15-12

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