Iowa City High volleyball sweeps West in ‘Battle of the Spike’

IOWA CITY — After getting upset by Iowa City West in four sets last year in the regional tournament, Iowa City High got revenge Thursday night.

Sophomore Claire Ernst led the way with 13 kills as the Little Hawks won the annual “Battle of the Spike,” 25-11, 25-13, 26-24.

Coach Tricia Carty was impressed with how strong her team came out.

“I think our two first sets were probably our best sets of the entire year,” she said. “We had an overall presence of emotion, and everyone did their jobs in a great way.

“It was great to come out and execute our game plan, which was to win the serve and pass game. We did a great job as a team of rebounding and keeping our composure after struggling on Tuesday.”

With it being Sept. 30, both teams started showing awareness a day early by wearing pink in support of National Breast Cancer Awareness Month. The NBCAM was founded in 1985 and always is in the month of October.

The Trojans came out with pink warmups to show their support. On the other hand, the Little Hawks wore pink jerseys, and the student section of City High did a pink out. Parents, faculty and staff wore pink, too.

“This year both schools partnered with each other to help raise awareness and donate money to the University of Iowa Dance Marathon campaign. With all the proceeds and donations from both schools going to the UOI dance marathon,” Iowa City High assistant principal Scott Jespersen said.

City High also was selling pink wristbands and T-shirts before the match. During the month of August both teams also sponsored “Miles for Miracles.”