West switches gears, races to MVC tournament title

IOWA CITY -- Autopilot most of the day. Overdrive at the very end.

Class 4A top-ranked Iowa City West shifted gears when it mattered most, defeating No. 2 Iowa City High, 25-14, 25-18, in the championship match of the Mississippi Valley Conference volleyball tournament Saturday at West High School.

It was West's fourth consecutive league tournament title.

"This was a nice surprise," said West Coach Kathy Bresnahan. "These kids never cease to surprise me. We were kind of on autopilot, but we had enough to go all-out for one match.

"And we never have any trouble getting up for City High."

West (33-6) endured some rough stretches throughout the day. The Women of Troy dropped a set apiece against Waterloo West and Cedar Rapids Washington in pool play, then were forced to a third game in the semifinals against Dubuque Wahlert.

But when it came time to shine, West was downright glossy.

"We got off to a rough start today," said Olivia Fairfield. "I guess we're just saving it for the championship game. We gave it our all."

West led City High 13-11 in the first game when it began to assert dominance at the net. Fairfield had two of West's four blocks in a seven-point surge, and the Little Hawks (35-3) were unable to fully recover.

"I think we were very predictable at the net," said City Coach Craig Pitcher. "They have good size along the front row, and we didn't adjust around the block."

The Little Hawks scored the first two points of the second set, then West tallied the next five to take the lead for good. When the Women of Troy scored five straight -- including two in a row via blocks from Hannah Infelt to make it 24-15 -- victory was imminent.

It was a 10-hour day for the finalists -- 9 a.m. to 7 p.m. -- and Fairfield wasn't going to celebrate too hard afterward.

"I'm ready to go take a nap," she said.

Fairfield had four blocks to lead West to a 10-2 advantage in that category and posted a match-high 10 kills.

Freshman Laynie Whitehead added six kills for the winners; Shelly Stumpff had five. Kelley Fliehler distributed 18 assists.

Michaela Nelson led the Little Hawks with eight kills. Erin Muir dished out 20 assists.

West was in a bit of a bind in the semifinals, trailing 3A No. 1 Wahlert 6-5 in the third set before a seven-point run got them out of trouble.

City High swept its way to the finals, including a 25-15, 25-23 win over Cedar Rapids Kennedy (26-9) in the semifinals.

Elizabeth Hubing finished the match with three straight kills as City High rallied from a 23-21 deficit in the second set.

MISSISSIPPI VALLEY CONFERENCE TOURNAMENT

At Iowa City West

Pool A -- 1. Iowa City High 3-0, 2. Dubuque Senior 2-1, 3. C.R. Prairie 1-2, 4. Waterloo East 0-3.

Dubuque Senior def. C.R. Prairie, 17-21, 24-22, 15-12

Iowa City High def. Waterloo East, 21-13, 21-8

C.R. Prairie def. Waterloo East, 14-21, 21-13, 15-11

Iowa City High def. Dubuque Senior, 23-21, 21-14

Dubuque Senior def. Waterloo East, 21-15, 21-11

Iowa City High def. C.R. Prairie, 21-12, 21-11

Pool B -- 1. Iowa City West 3-0, 2. C.R. Xavier 2-1, 3. Waterloo West 1-2, 4. C.R. Washington 0-3.

C.R. Xavier def. C.R. Washington, 21-13, 17-21, 15-8

Iowa City West def. Waterloo West, 14-21, 21-13, 15-9

Waterloo West def. C.R. Washington, 21-15, 21-19

Iowa City West def. C.R. Xavier, 21-17, 21-14

C.R. Xavier def. Waterloo West, 10-21, 21-13, 15-11

Iowa City West def.  C.R. Washington, 21-12, 18-21, 15-8

Pool C -- 1. Dubuque Wahlert 3-0, 2. Cedar Falls 1-2, 3. Linn-Mar 0-3.

Pool D --  1. C.R. Kennedy 3-0, 2. Dubuque Hempstead 2-1, 3. C.R. Jefferson 0-3.

Dubuque Wahlert def. Linn-Mar, 21-18, 21-8

Cedar Falls def. Linn-Mar, 21-12, 21-14

Dubuque Wahlert def. Cedar Falls, 21-10, 21-18

Dubuque Hempstead def. C.R. Jefferson, 21-9, 21-7

C.R. Kennedy def. C.R. Jefferson, 21-11, 21-13

C.R. Kennedy def. Dubuque Hempstead, 21-15, 21-6

Dubuque Wahlert def. C.R. Jefferson, 21-9, 21-12

Dubuque Hempstead def. Linn-Mar, 21-13, 21-7

C.R. Kennedy def. Cedar Falls, 21-12, 21-16

Consolation Quarterfinals

C.R. Washington def. C.R. Jefferson, 24-26, 25-17, 15-5

Linn-Mar def. Waterloo East, 13-25, 25-19, 15-7

Consolation Semifinals

C.R. Washington def. C.R. Prairie, 25-19, 25-19

Waterloo West def. Linn-Mar, 25-11, 25-19

Consolation Final

C.R. Washington def. Waterloo West, 26-24, 25-22

Quarterfinals

Iowa City High def. Cedar Falls, 25-12, 25-13

C.R. Kennedy def. C.R. Xavier, 25-18, 25-13

Iowa City West def. Dubuque Hempstead, 25-14, 25-17

Dubuque Wahlert def. Dubuque Senior, 25-17, 19-25, 15-6

Semifinals

Iowa City High def. C.R. Kennedy, 25-15, 25-23

Iowa City West def. Dubuque Wahlert, 25-17, 19-25, 15-8

Championship

Iowa City West def. Iowa City High, 25-14, 25-18

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