Down a set, Saint Ansgar storms back to claim the 1A volleyball title

CORALVILLE — They didn’t merely drop the first set.

They got rolled.

“We were all nervous,” Jacey Johnston said. “We didn’t want to make mistakes. But volleyball is a game of mistakes.”

Lindsay Kruse added, “We had to be more hype and hope we turned it around.”

They sure did.

Top-ranked Saint Ansgar turned on a dime and defeated No. 2 Saint Ansgar in four sets (14-25, 25-22, 25-19, 25-20) for the Class 1A state championship Thursday night at Xtream Arena.

It was the first title for the Saints, who finished 31-4.

“It’s a dream come true,” said senior setter Sofia Parrott, who moved to Saint Ansgar from Charles City, and was named captain of the all-tournament team. “I had one job, and that was to lead these girls to a state title.”

Parrott piloted a share-the-wealth attack. Ava Falk collected 13 kills, Kruse 12, Quinn Osgood 11, Johnston 10.

So what turned it all around?

“It was more on the mental side,” said Parrott, who dished out 36 assists. “The big crowd, the bright lights ... starting with the second set, we became a team.”

Parrott was joined on the all-tournament team by Kruse and Johnston, as well as Janesville’s trio of Quinn Sweeney, Hayden Anderson and Tayah Pollock, plus Taylor Kipp of Dunkerton.

Janesville (33-12) was in the state field for the 14th time in the last 16 years, a run that produced five championships. Sweeney led the Wildcats with 12 kills.

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