West outlasts Liberty, forces a deadlock for the MVC Mississippi Division title

IOWA CITY — When crunch time arrived, Sophia Austen didn’t shrink from the moment.

“I just love those big moments,” said Austen, a junior at Iowa City West and an Iowa State University commit.

“Some people get scared. When it’s close, I’m like, ‘Give me the ball.’ I have trust in myself, and I have trust in my teammates, that we can do the job.”

Austen and the Class 5A ninth-ranked Trojans finished the job Tuesday night, scoring the final five points of the match and outlasting No. 8 Iowa City Liberty in a five-set MVC Mississippi Division volleyball showdown at West High School.

Set scores were 18-25, 25-17, 25-23, 18-25 and 15-11.

The outcome forged a title share in the division; both teams finished 5-1.

West (18-4 overall) and Liberty (17-7) will join Cedar Falls and Cedar Rapids Prairie in the championship pool of the MVC tournament next Tuesday at Cedar Falls.

That ensured one more West/Liberty showdown. Another could come in a Class 5A regional final, if the Iowa Girls High School Athletic Union opts to assign the teams to the same bracket.

“We knew what might be at stake,” West Coach Jaedynn Evans said. “We just didn’t tell the girls any of it. That would have just added to the pressure.”

There was enough of that as it was.

At the key moment of Game 3, then again at the end of the match, West has its collective back against the wall. Both times, the Trojans delivered.

With the match tied at a set apiece, West faced a 23-20 deficit in the third. Austen started the rally with a kill, then it was freshman Cyan Blommer with another termination to cut the deficit to 23-22 and force a Liberty timeout.

The last three points were recorded by a block from West’s Taylor Otte, an ace by Austen and a free-ball kill by Blommer.

In Game 5, Liberty erased a 10-7 deficit with four consecutive points (led by a pair of kills from Clare Gordon).

With West trailing 11-10, Austen smoked a pair of kills to put the Trojans back in front. After a Liberty attack error, Otte delivered a kill, then it was Austen for match point.

Regional pairings reveal: 3:45 p.m. Thursday

The Iowa Girls High School Athletic Union will reveal the regional pairings in a video release at 3:45 p.m. Thursday.

Pairings will be posted on Bound at 4:30.

Regionals open Oct. 20 in Class 2A and Class 1A, Oct. 21 in 5A, 4A and 3A. Regional finals are Oct. 28-29, with the state tournament Nov. 3-6 at Xtream Arena, Coralville.

First glance at the Westside Invitational

Cedar Rapids Jefferson will host the always-powerful Westside Invitational on Saturday.

Ten of the 16 teams are ranked, headlined by Ankeny Centennial, Pleasant Valley and West Des Moines Dowling (ranked No. 2, No. 5 and No. 6 in Class 5A) and Dike-New Hartford (No. 2 in 2A).

Pool play begins at 8:30 a.m., with two pools at Jefferson, two at Washington. Bracket play is scheduled to start at 2:30 p.m., with the championship match at 5:30.

Comments: jeff.linder@thegazette.com