Abraham Lincoln pulls a shocker

CEDAR RAPIDS - They feel overlooked. Disrespected. Underestimated.

'Every team in Southwest Iowa, other than Harlan, kind of gets underestimated,” said Lauren Colpitts of Council Bluffs Abraham Lincoln. 'Nobody thought we were going to do anything here. That's OK. We carry a chip on our shoulders.”

They'll carry it into the semifinals.

The seventh-ranked Lynx pulled the first upset of the state tournament, outlasting No. 3 West Des Moines Dowling in a five-set thriller (20-25, 25-19, 30-28, 13-25, 16-14) in a Class 5A quarterfinal Tuesday afternoon at the U.S. Cellular Center.

'I can't explain it,” said Kelsey Johnson. 'There are so many emotions, going on at once. It's like, ‘Did we just do this?'”

They did.

Abraham Lincoln (40-13) is in the state field for the 12th time. But the Lynx have advanced to the semifinals for only the third. They'll face No. 2 Ankeny Centennial (42-3) in the next round at 10 a.m. Thursday.

'We're not scared of anybody,” said setter Samantha Bohnet. 'Maybe they should be scared of us.”

Dowling (39-7) led the final set, 9-7, before Abraham Lincoln scored the next three points, triggering a back-and-forth race to the finish.

It was tied at 9, 10, 11, 12, 13 and 14. After an attack error by the Maroons gave the Lynx match point, Deana Roth ended it with an ace.

That marked the second time the Lynx collapsed to the floor in celebration. The first came at the end of the third set, a 30-28 breath-taking CBAL triumph.

Dowling cruised in Game 4 despite playing the end of it without leading hitter Mykal Sadler, who suffered a possible concussion. The Maroons scored the final eight points of the set with her on the bench. She did not return for the fifth set.

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