City High sweeps its way to state

MARION - Alexa Aldrich-Ingram does a little of everything. And she does everything well.

She serves aggressively. She's a lethal left-handed hitter and a crafty setter. She can block when needed.

'I just know that I have to get the job done, no matter what that is,” she said.

Eighth-ranked Iowa City High got the job done en masse, sweeping Cedar Rapids Prairie, 25-20, 25-14, 25-19, in a Class 5A volleyball regional final Tuesday night at Linn-Mar High School.

'Our kids executed everything, almost to a T,” City High Coach Craig Pitcher said. 'We served well. We did the fundamentals in our passing. And Rylee (Price), she hit that first ball. When she plays well, we play really well.”

City High (24-10) returns to state after a one-year absence. The Little Hawks will face a team to be determined in a 5A quarterfinal next Tuesday at the U.S. Cellular Center.

'It's great for the kids,” Pitcher said. 'Especially for the seniors that were here for the two runner-up finishes (in 2011 and 2012). Now they have a chance to make their own history.”

Prairie's season of progress ended at 23-14 under first-year head coach Lynnette Stecklein.

'I'm happy with our season. Obviously, we're disappointed with tonight because we had really pushed for this,” Stecklein said. 'We made big growth and proved that we can compete with the good teams.”

City High played beyond 'good” Tuesday. Price collected a team-high 10 kills. Aldrich-Ingram swatted nine kills to go with 16 assists. She also had a couple blocks, a couple aces and converted all 14 of her serves.

The Little Hawks were in system virtually all night, and in control.

'They're scrappy. You look across the night and think, ‘The ball's still up,'” Prairie senior Megan Sprengeler said. 'Their movement was really fluid.”

Stecklein said, 'They won the transition game. So many times, you thought the ball was down. But it wasn't.

'They're good anyway. But they were exceptional tonight.”

The first set was Prairie's best shot. The Hawks led 12-11 and stayed close until the Little Hawks closed it out with the final three points.

City High ran away with Game 2, sprinting from a 7-7 tie. Prairie's final lead of the match was 4-3 in the final before the Little Hawks scored the next three points.

Sprengeler and Kenzie Soeken collected eight kills apiece for Prairie.

IOWA CITY HIGH 3, CEDAR RAPIDS PRAIRIE 0 (25-20, 25-14, 25-19)

Class 5A Regional Final, at Linn-Mar

Serving: City 68-74 (.919), Prairie 49-54 (.907); Aces: City 10 (Ashley Smith 3), Prairie 4 (four with 1); Kills: City 36 (Rylee Price 10), Prairie 28 (Megan Sprengeler, Kenzie Soeken 8); Assists: City 30 (Alexa Aldrich-Ingram 16), Prairie 28 (Mallory Jones 16); Blocks: City 7 (Aldrich-Ingram, Price, Shannon Stamp 2), Prairie 4 (Kate Busswitz 2).

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