Linn-Mar grabs tournament title at Washington

CEDAR RAPIDS - When the news broke on Amanda Ollinger's transfer last winter, the shock was widespread with her old teammates.

Her new ones, too.

'The second I saw the (first) tweet about it, I said, ‘No way.'” recalled Linn-Mar setter Ellie Anderson. 'I thought, ‘This is a joke.'”

No joke.

And though basketball will be Ollinger's path to a Division-I scholarship - she committed last year to the University of Iowa - her arrival at Linn-Mar is no less impactful in volleyball.

'She's definitely a leader out there,” Anderson said. 'Everybody looks up to her. And she's so modest. We love her.”

Ollinger was one reason, but certainly not the only reason, that Class 5A eighth-rated Linn-Mar swept 3A No. 2 Union, 21-10, 21-13, for the championship of the Warrior Invitational tournament Saturday at Washington High School.

'We played our best volleyball at the end of the day,” said Lions Coach Teresa Kehe. 'That speaks well for our conditioning.”

Linn-Mar (6-2) scored the final 10 points of the first set to assume control. Emilee McGowan served three aces in the spree.

'We started a little slow, but at the end, we played really well as a team,” McGowan said.

Anderson said, 'Emilee's one of our stronger servers, and that's a really strong rotation. When she gets on a serving run, our energy really picks up.”

The Lions won two of three pool matches (beating Davenport Central and Union, and losing to Johnston), then downed Solon and Cedar Rapids Xavier in the first two rounds of bracket play.

They led throughout the first set, then assembled a five-point run in Game 2 for a 9-5 advantage, and cruised from there.

A second-team all-stater last year at Cedar Rapids Jefferson, Ollinger had a modest six kills in the championship match, though most of them were struck hard. Carly Spies led the Lions with seven kills, and Anderson distributed 14 assists.

Union (6-2) swept Cedar Rapids Jefferson in the quarterfinals, then rallied past 4A No. 2 Marion, 21-18, 13-21, 15-11, in the semifinals.

Megan Hudson collected seven kills in the final match for the Knights.

WARRIOR INVITATIONAL VOLLEYBALL TOURNAMENT

Pool A - 1. C.R. Jefferson 2-0, 2. Marion 2-0, 3. C.R. Washington 0-2.

Pool B - 1. Solon 1-2, 2. Dubuque Senior 1-2.

Pool C - 1. Linn-Mar 2-1, 2. C.R. Xavier 1-2, 3. Oskaloosa 1-2.

Pool D - 1. Johnston 3-0, 2. Union 2-1, 3. Davenport Central 0-3.

Round 1

C.R. Jefferson def. Dubuque Senior, 21-12, 21-9

Solon def. C.R. Washington, 21-16, 21-12

Johnston def. C.R. Xavier, 22-20, 21-16

Round 2

Linn-Mar def. Davenport Central, 21-15, 21-5

Marion def. Dubuque Senior, 21-16, 21-12

Union def. C.R. Xavier, 21-16, 21-18

Round 3

Johnston def. Oskaloosa, 21-7, 21-17

Marion def. Solon, 21-9, 21-14

Linn-Mar def. Union, 22-24, 21-15, 16-14

Round 4

Oskaloosa def. Davenport Central, 21-8, 19-21, 15-12

Dubuque Senior def. C.R. Washington, 21-17, 21-15

C.R. Jefferson def. Solon, 21-16, 21-10

Round 5

Johnston def. Linn-Mar, 21-13, 21-10

C.R. Xavier def. Davenport Central, 19-21, 21-15, 15-7

Union def. Oskaloosa, 21-13, 21-13

Consolation Semifinal

C.R. Washington def. Davenport Central, 21-15, 12-21, 15-8

Consolation Final

Oskaloosa def. C.R. Washington, 13-21, 21-17, 15-8

Quarterfinals

Union def. C.R. Jefferson, 21-15, 21-14

Marion def. Johnston, 24-22, 22-20

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

Linn-Mar def. Dubuque Senior, 21-16, 21-15

Semifinals

Union def. Marion, 21-18, 13-21, 15-11

Linn-Mar def. C.R. Xavier, 21-15, 19-21, 15-9

Championship

Linn-Mar def. Union, 21-10, 21-13

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