Cedar Falls outlasts Linn-Mar in top-10 showdown

MARION - The effort and fight were there from Linn-Mar.

The only thing missing at the end of the night was a win.

The Class 5A sixth-ranked Lions scratched and clawed but No. 3 Cedar Falls grabbed the 25-19, 21-25, 25-17, 23-25, 18-16 victory Tuesday night at Linn-Mar.

'We battle, battle and battle,” Linn-Mar Coach Teresa Kehe said. 'We're still at that stage where we aren't able to finish.”

The Tigers had a hard time closing out the Lions, capturing the first and third sets. They led 10-7 in the decisive game only for Linn-Mar to score six of the next eight points for a 13-12 edge, receiving three kills from Amanda Ollinger and another attempt blocked out of bounds. A Carly Spies kill tied it, 14-14, and Linn-Mar was serving for the winning point after a Cedar Falls spike sailed long. A service error and Alicia Harrington kill propelled Cedar Falls (24-2, 5-1) to take control of second place in the Mississippi Valley Conference Valley Division.

The Tigers owned a strong size advantage with twice as many players at 5-foot-10 or taller. Ollinger and Spies are the tallest Lions at 6-1 and 6-2, respectively.

'It was a great hard-fought match,” Kehe said. 'No doubt, but sustaining that effort is a big important part of what we need to learn to do.”

The Lions trailed 15-9 in the fourth, but rallied to force the fifth set. Ollinger was key, tallying three straight kills in a five-point streak for the Lions. She also had two straight to tie it, 22-22, and another for a 24-23 lead.

Even at this point, there are hard lessons to learn. This was a good experience for Linn-Mar (25-6, 4-2).

'The biggest thing is the learning curve,” Ollinger said. 'We definitely learned we need to finish games and what it feels like to be right there and not have it.”

The Lions had opportunities throughout the match, but Kehe said a lack of aggressiveness kept them from capitalizing on different situations.

'Play hard every play,” Ollinger said. 'Coach (Kehe) says we need to play intense and execute every play because you don't know which point is going to matter.”

The performance is something that will help them as they get ready for the conference tournament and postseason play.

'These are the kinds of matches we need,” Kehe said. 'It helps prepare you for the tournament trail and being mentally tough.”

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