Lisbon on verge of its best volleyball season ever

Lance Kamous is asked periodically how he has turned around the volleyball program at Lisbon High School.

His response is simple.

"I haven't done much," he said. "The kids have done a lot of hard work."

The Lions (20-6 overall, 4-1 Big East Conference) are on their way to their first winning season since 1992, and their winningest season ever. The 1990 team won 21 matches.

This year's team can match that mark with a victory over Bellevue on Tuesday.

It's a far cry from a few years ago, when the team wasn't winning and the fans weren't coming. These days, the Lisbon gym is a good place to be. Every home match is a theme night.

"Tuesday night is Hawaiian night, and I'm trying to find 300 Hawaiian leis for the fans as a thank-you from our kids," said Kamous, in his third season at Lisbon. "We're 11-1 at home this year, and our kids really feed off the energy."

A losing program for 16 straight seasons, Lisbon broke even at 14-14 in 2009 and 2010. Last year's team reached the Class 1A regional finals before falling to Fort Madison Holy Trinity.

The Lions have seven seniors. Two of them -- Brittni Reid and Bethany Cowell -- played a lot as freshmen. Back then, Kamous said, the goal was to make it out of pool play at Saturday tournaments.

Saturday, a semifinal finish at the North Cedar Invitational was a disappointment.

"Midland took it to us in our last pool match, then Edgewood-Colesburg got us in the semis," Kamous said. "We were a little shellshocked.

"But overall, we've beaten some good teams and have been pretty consistent in our play."

Much of the reason has come in the Lions' aggressive serving. Hannah Myers leads the team with 34 aces.

At 6-foot-1 1/2, Melissa Alger is an intimidating presence at the net. Alger averages nearly 3 kills per game and owns a .332 kill efficiency.

"She used to be a tall girl that played volleyball. Now, she's a good volleyball player," Kamous said. 

Mississippi Division logjam

The Mississippi Valley Conference schedule has hit the midpoint, and four teams are tied for the Mississippi Division lead at 3-1.

Two of the co-leaders -- Iowa City High (22-2 overall) and Cedar Rapids Washington (10-7) -- square off Tuesday at City High.

Cedar Rapids Kennedy (18-5) and Dubuque Wahlert (13-3) also are 3-1 in league matches.

Iowa City West (19-5, 4-0) leads the Valley Division.