Another week, another No. 1 goes down

The revolving door at the Class 5A volleyball penthouse continues to spin.

Cedar Rapids Kennedy's sweep of Cedar Falls on Tuesday likely means another change at the top of the big-school rankings, which will be released Thursday.

'There are so many good teams, so many matches that could fall either way,” Kennedy Coach Michelle Goodall said after the fourth-rated Cougars (12-5 overall, 3-0 MVC Valley Division) avenged two Saturday losses to Cedar Falls (13-1, 1-1).

Like a bar of wet soap, the No. 1 ranking has been difficult to hold onto. Bettendorf was the preseason team on top, but lost to Cedar Rapids Prairie at the season-opening MVC-MAC Challenge.

Iowa City High claimed the No. 1 rating for a week, then Cedar Falls surged to the top last week.

This week? Probably back to Bettendorf.

Goodall said the Cougars 'got our tails whipped” by Cedar Falls on Saturday at the Osage tournament. But she moved Brinley Milbrath to the middle and Macy Anderson to the right side to neutralize the Tigers' middle hitters. The result was a 25-14, 26-24, 25-18 triumph.

'We just stayed on task,” Goodall said. 'Macy terminated quite a few kills. The girls did a great job adjusting. It's good for the kids to show we can be a great team.”

J-HAWKS BUILDING TOWARD BRIGHT FUTURE

Cedar Rapids Jefferson isn't a Mississippi Valley Conference contender. Yet.

But it doesn't take much imagination to visualize the J-Hawks as a future force.

'We're going to keep getting better,” said Amy Norton, who shares the head-coaching role with her husband Will. 'As tough as the losses are now, we're learning from them.”

Jefferson (7-5 overall, 0-3 MVC Valley) dropped a tough five-setter to Dubuque Wahlert on Tuesday.

'We played so well in the third set (to go up 2-1),” Norton said. 'If only we could have pulled it out in four. We hoped to shut the door, but we came out a little flat.”

It's part of the process. The J-Hawks' varsity roster features six freshmen, including setter Maddy Baxter, libero Kaylee Donner, and hitter Sydney Kloubec - who ranks second on the team in kills behind sophomore Maddie Slagle.

The Nortons had been assistants to Mary Kay Van Oort, who left shortly before the season to become the coach at Mount Mercy University.

'The girls deserved to roll right into the season and have an easy transition, and I think it has been,” Norton said. 'We're not really big, but we're scrappy.”

Jefferson went 5-1 at the Southeast Polk tournament Saturday.

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