Jefferson handles Washington in a not-so-ordinary volleyball sweep

CEDAR RAPIDS — There are countless ways to spark a rally.

But there’s only one path in prolonging one.

Get the darn serve in.

“You’ve got to stay calm. You don’t want to be tense,” Cedar Rapids Jefferson’s Lily Schreckengast said.

Schreckengast was cool at the service stripe at the end of the second and third sets, igniting Cedar Rapids Jefferson to a pair of shocking rallies.

The J-Hawks swept Cedar Rapids Washington, 25-19, 25-23, 26-24, in Tuesday’s Class 5A volleyball regional quarterfinal Tuesday night at Jefferson High School.

“We were able to stay hyped up, and Lily’s serves were a key factor,” Allie Barlow said.

Jefferson (9-22) overcame a 23-20 deficit in Game 2 with five straight points. Think that was something? That was mild compared to what came next.

With Washington (2-30) in front 24-18 in Game 3, the Warriors made a service error, sending Schreckengast back to serve for the J-Hawks.

Zaria Larsen had a couple of kills. Jariah Harris put down a key block. Emma Slings’ free-ball kill got the J-Hawks even at 24-24.

After a Washington attack error, Harris’ kill from the right side ended the stunning eight-point rally.

“As much as you don’t like being down, we’ve had 10 to 12 sets this year that we’ve lost by two points,” J-Hawks Co-Coach Will Norton said. “Finishing has been a big concern for us.

“But we got them out of system and we starting playing defense like we can.

“We’ve been practicing (serving) that spot (in the back right corner),” Schreckengast said. “That was beneficial.”

A Northern Michigan University commit, Barlow had played a setter-only role for her first three years at Jefferson, and she went over the 2,000-assist mark earlier this season.

Now, Barlow and Slings share the setting duties in a new 6-2 scheme.

“We started working on it this summer, and Emma has good hands,” Barlow said.

Barlow collected a match-high 19 kills to go with 10 assists. Slings added nine kills and 18 assists.

The J-Hawks’ reward? A date with No. 1 Iowa City Liberty (28-8) in a regional semifinal Thursday at North Liberty.

“I’m excited about it, and nervous,” Schreckengast said. “We have nothing to lose.”

Breanna Franklin paced Washington with 13 kills. The majority of the Warriors’ roster will be back for 2023.

Washington was competitive with the J-Hawks all night, but the hosts were golden at the end of each set.

Jefferson led just 17-16 in Game 1 before Slings served a pair of aces in a seven-point run.

Larsen had two kills on Schreckengast’s five-point serving spree to conclude the second set.

Cedar Rapids Jefferson 3, Cedar Rapids Washington 0

(25-19, 25-23, 26-24)

Class 5A Regional Quarterfinal, at C.R. Jefferson

Serving: Washington 60-69 (.870), Jefferson 68-73 (.932)

Aces: Washington 11 (Jazmine Martin, Sophie Rahe 3), Jefferson 8 (Allie Barlow 3)

Kills: Washington 28 (Breanna Franklin 13), Jefferson 39 (Barlow 19)

Assists: Washington 25 (Mya Messenger 25), Jefferson 32 (Emma Slings 18)

Blocks: Washington 2 (Selia Stein 2), Jefferson 2 (Chloe Boyer, Jariah Harris)

Comments: jeff.linder@thegazette.com