Hawks repeat at Linn-Mar Invitational

MARION - They have duplicated their fast start from last year and repeated as Linn-Mar Invitational tournament champions.

Now, where do the Prairie Hawks go from here?

'It's something we've been talking about,” Coach Lynnette Stecklein said. 'We didn't finish like we wanted last year. We need to see continued growth and improvement.”

The future remains a mystery. But the present is rosy.

Class 5A 10th-ranked Cedar Rapids Prairie swept through its six matches Saturday, avenging a Tuesday loss to Dubuque Hempstead, then handling No. 7 Linn-Mar, 21-12, 21-19, in the finals.

'We really clicked together,” said junior hitter Megan Oldenburger. 'Offense, defense, blocking, digging - it all showed up today. The win against Hempstead, that really pumped us up.”

Prairie (10-1) has soared through the first two weeks of the season. The Hawks knocked off then-No. 1 Bettendorf at the MVC-MAC Challenge to start it off, then enjoyed more glory Saturday.

'They had a lot of energy at the start of the (championship) match, and we did not,” said Linn-Mar Coach Teresa Kehe. 'It's a good learning experience for us, to give us an understanding of what level of energy needs to be made.”

The Hawks scored the first five points of the match behind Oldenburger (three kills) and Kate Busswitz (a kill and a block). And that set the tone.

Prairie raced through the first set, then overcame an early 4-0 deficit in the second. A three-point run midway through gave the Hawks a 12-9 lead, then Linn-Mar (12-3) rallied to tie it at 18-18, then 19-19.

Oldenburger's kill got Prairie to match point, then Busswitz followed with her own kill to end it.

Perhaps a Prairie/Linn-Mar finale was simply meant to be.

In pool play, the Hawks and the Lions posted identical match records (3-0), set records (6-0) and point differentials (plus-56). Prairie won a coin flip to take the No. 1 seed into the bracket portion of the tournament.

Marion was the other pool champion.

No. 9 Hempstead (10-4) swept Prairie in their MVC match Tuesday - 'That was a tough loss for us,” Stecklein said. 'We didn't play collectively well together.” - but the Hawks turned the tables Saturday, erasing several set points in the opening game and prevailing 27-25, 21-19.

The Hawks handled 3A No. 6 Davenport Assumption in the quarterfinals.

Linn-Mar downed Pleasant Valley in the quarterfinals, then beat 4A No. 2 Marion (9-2), 21-18, 21-13 in the semifinals.

LINN-MAR INVITATIONAL VOLLEYBALL TOURNAMENT

Pool A

Teams - 1. Marion 3-0, 2. Dubuque Hempstead 2-1, 3. Pleasant Valley 1-2, 4. Waterloo East 0-3.

Marion def. Waterloo East, 21-9, 21-14

Dubuque Hempstead def. Pleasant Valley, 21-11, 21-15

Marion def. Dubuque Hempstead, 21-14, 21-23, 15-10

Pleasant Valley def. Waterloo East, 21-17, 21-10

Marion def. Pleasant Valley, 24-22, 17-21, 15-7

Dubuque Hempstead def. Waterloo East, 21-15, 21-10

Pool B

Teams - 1. Linn-Mar 3-0, 2. Center Point-Urbana 2-1, 3. Davenport Assumption 1-2, 4. Iowa City Regina 0-3.

Center Point-Urbana def. Iowa City Regina, 21-17, 21-10

Linn-Mar def. Davenport Assumption, 21-14, 21-14

Linn-Mar def. Center Point-Urbana, 21-15, 21-9

Davenport Assumption def. Iowa City Regina, 21-9, 21-7

Center Point-Urbana def. Davenport Assumption, 21-11, 21-7

Linn-Mar def. Iowa City Regina, 21-12, 21-6

Pool C

Teams - 1. C.R. Prairie 3-0, 2. Solon 2-1, 3. Vinton-Shellsburg 1-2, 4. Muscatine 0-3.

Solon def. Vinton-Shellsburg, 21-15, 21-7

C.R. Prairie def. Muscatine, 21-12, 21-8

Solon def. Muscatine, 22-20, 21-18

C.R. Prairie def. Vinton-Shellsburg, 21-12, 21-17

C.R. Prairie def. Solon, 21-12, 21-9

Vinton-Shellsburg def. Muscatine, 21-9, 20-22, 15-12

Consolation Semifinals

Iowa City Regina def. Vinton-Shellsburg

Waterloo East def. Muscatine

Consolation Final

Waterloo East def. Iowa City Regina

Quarterfinals

C.R. Prairie def. Davenport Assumption, 21-10, 21-18

Dubuque Hempstead def. Center Point-Urbana, 21-17, 21-19

Linn-Mar def. Pleasant Valley, 21-14, 21-15

Marion def. Solon, 21-9, 21-16

Semifinals

C.R. Prairie def. Dubuque Hempstead, 27-25, 21-19

Linn-Mar def. Marion, 21-18, 21-13

Championship

C.R. Prairie def. Linn-Mar, 21-12, 21-19

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