Janesville turns the tables on Tripoli to clinch spot in 1A championship

CEDAR RAPIDS - Two years ago, Gillian Gergen was a wide-eyed but talented freshman on Janesville's state championship team.

Now a junior, the 6-foot middle hitter has grown into an irreplaceable leader on a third-ranked Janesville squad that is one win away from its second title in three seasons after an impressive sweep of second-ranked Tripoli, 25-23, 25-15, 25-14, in a Class 1A volleyball state semifinal Thursday at the U.S. Cellular Center.

'It's very satisfying,” said Gergen, who led the Wildcats with 15 kills. 'This last game was probably our biggest game because we played Tripoli in conference and lost in five, so that was pretty upsetting. But then it was awesome to get a chance to play them again to show them that, ‘Hey, we can beat you.'”

The rematch in the aforementioned five-setter was no contest. Janesville built an early lead in Game 1, fought off a Tripoli rally, and triumphed, 25-23. The Wildcats flexed their considerable muscle in the second and third games, as Gergen and senior Andrea Hesse helped jumpstart an 11-3 lead in Game 2, then coasted, 25-15.

'We scouted them, obviously, and saw what defense they ran,” said Gergen, who is committed to play at Drake in two years. 'We just played around it and went for it. It worked.”

Janesville (26-14) will meet fourth-ranked Sidney (34-1), winners of 30 matches in a row, in the 1A championship at 7 p.m. Friday. The Cowgirls eliminated top-ranked Central Lyon in a sweep.

'It's been our goal since summer workouts,” said Hesse, who chipped in four kills and a block. 'We just really want it.”

Tripoli (24-15) made a last-gasp effort in Game 3, but a 13-11 deficit quickly ballooned to 22-11 after nine consecutive points from Janesville.

'We played a better game tonight and we knew we had to,” Janesville Coach Shelly Sorensen said. 'Tripoli's a great team. … We were hoping for this opportunity. … We knew they would bring their best against us tonight, so we knew we had to improve our game on our side.”

Kills by Payton Thompson and Kennedy Meister sealed Janesville's spot in the championship match.

Sophomore Kennedy Drewis chipped in 11 kills for Tripoli, while Nikki Detmer added 12 digs.

'We struggled stopping their middle attack,” first-year Tripoli Coach Tony Sneiderman said. 'The first time we played them we did a better job of getting them out of system and tonight, Janesville did an excellent job of passing the ball and we couldn't stop their middle.”

l Comments: douglas.miles@thegazette.com