Linn-Mar flips the outcome against Dike-New Hartford

CEDAR RAPIDS — When Linn-Mar faced Dike-New Hartford a week ago, it was, quite frankly, a tail-kicking.

'We knew what we had to do, but we didn't execute,' Lions Coach Teresa Bair said.

So Bair gave her team a reading assignment, from the motivational book '212 The Extra Degree.' You know, how one more degree boils water and turns it into steam.

'The little things make a big difference, especially against a team like Dike-New Hartford,' Bair said. 'Last week, they were a lot better. Today, we were a little better.'

Class 5A fourth-ranked Linn-Mar had just a little more at the end of each set and outlasted 2A No. 1 DNH, 29-27, 25-23, in the championship match of the Warrior Invitational volleyball tournament Saturday at Washington High School.

'To beat them is a real milestone for our program,' said junior setter Megan Renner. 'A real team effort went into it.'

Linn-Mar (9-3) overcame a pool-play loss to 4A No. 1 Cedar Rapids Xavier, then rattled off four straight victories. The Lions fought past Johnston in three sets, then beat 4A No. 13 Marion in the semifinals, 25-15, 25-22.

In the final, the Lions rallied from a 24-22 deficit in the first set, then refused to buckle after DNH (10-2) erased a seven-point deficit in the second.

'It's hard to beat a team like that; they're just so good,' Anna Gorsich said of the Wolverines, who won the 3A state title last year. 'They pick up everything, so you have to play smart and hit ball where they aren't.'

Gorsich did that with regularity, collecting five kills and a block in the opening set, then leading the way as the Lions built a 9-2 advantage in Game 2.

A junior and a Purdue University commit, Renner gives the Lions a tall setter at 6-foot-2. She's also a threat to hit away.

'When you run with one setter, it creates continuity,' she said.

The Lions aren't in midseason form yet, but should get closer when middle hitter Carly Spies — a UNI recruit — returns in a week or two from a foot injury.

Bair is in her 28th year of coaching at the high-school level (she also led Loras College for seven seasons). Her next win will be No. 700, and the Lions host Waterloo East on Tuesday.

DNH was one team in the field of 12 that won all of its pool matches. Xavier was the other. They collided in the semifinals with the Wolverines prevailing in a thriller, 28-30, 25-23, 20-18.

'We took care of business early in the day, and we learned a valuable lesson against Solon (in the quarterfinals),' Xavier Coach Austin Filer said. 'We learned that we need to be focused for longer periods of time, and we need to practice harder.'

The Saints lost the first set against Solon, then rallied from deficits of 18-15 and 23-21 in Game 2 before prevailing 15-5 in the third.

WARRIOR INVITATIONAL VOLLEYBALL TOURNAMENT

At C.R. Washington

Pool A — 1. Linn-Mar 2-1, 2. Davenport Central 2-1, 3. C.R. Kennedy 1-2.

Pool B — 1. C.R. Xavier 3-0, 2. Union Community 1-2, 3. Oskaloosa 0-3.

Pool C — 1. Dike-New Hartford 3-0, 2. Solon 1-2, 3. Dubuque Senior 0-3.

Pool D — 1. Marion 2-1, 2. Johnston 2-1, 3. C.R. Washington 1-2.

Pool Matches

C.R. Kennedy def. Oskaloosa, 24-22, 21-13

C.R. Washington def. Dubuque Senior, 21-10, 21-15

C.R. Xavier def. Davenport Central, 21-12, 21-13

C.R. Xavier def. Linn-Mar, 21-18, 21-17

C.R. Xavier def. C.R. Kennedy, 21-10, 21-15

Davenport Central def. Oskaloosa, 21-15, 21-19

Davenport Central def. Union Community, 21-16, 21-17

Dike-New Hartford def. C.R. Washington, 21-3, 21-13

Dike-New Hartford def. Johnston, 21-12, 21-14

Dike-New Hartford def. Marion, 21-15, 21-16

Johnston def. Dubuque Senior, 21-15, 21-10

Johnston def. Solon, 21-18, 22-20

Linn-Mar def. Union Community, 21-19, 21-13

Linn-Mar def. Oskaloosa, 21-17, 21-5

Marion def. Dubuque Senior, 21-8, 21-5

Marion def. Solon, 21-19, 21-9

Solon def. C.R. Washington, 14-21, 21-6, 15-9

Union Community def. C.R. Kennedy, 21-19, 23-25, 15-12

Consolation Semifinals

C.R. Washington def. C.R. Kennedy, 25-19, 25-20

Oskaloosa def. Dubuque Senior, 23-25, 25-21, 15-9

Consolation Final

C.R. Washington def. Oskaloosa, 25-19, 25-21

Quarterfinals

Linn-Mar def. Johnston, 25-23, 16-25, 15-5

Marion def. Davenport Central, 25-13, 25-14

C.R. Xavier def. Solon, 23-25, 25-23, 15-5

Dike-New Hartford def. Union, 25-7, 25-13

Semifinals

Linn-Mar def. Marion, 25-15, 25-22

Dike-New Hartford def. C.R. Xavier, 28-30, 25-23, 20-18

Championship

Linn-Mar def. Dike-New Hartford, 29-27, 25-23

l Comments: (319) 368-8857; jeff.linder@thegazette.com