City High rebounds to win MVC volleyball tournament

MARION - Sometimes it takes six hours to find your best.

Iowa City High drove that point home Saturday, claiming the Mississippi Valley Conference volleyball tournament championship with a win over Cedar Rapids Kennedy, 25-18, 25-16. Earlier in the day, the story was much different with the Cougars pulling out a win in three sets over the Little Hawks, 21-18, 17-21, 15-11.

'Every team has some lapses along the way in a tournament or a season,” Iowa City High Coach Craig Pitcher said. 'I think today, especially at the end, they finally realized that they can get this done. They relied on everybody.”

Cedar Rapids Kennedy rode a wave of emotion into the championship match, defeating Iowa City West in the quarterfinals and Linn-Mar in the semis. The Cougars were out to avenge defeats earlier in the season to both teams.

'Personally, I think that was the best game we played all season,” Cougar junior Anna Fluent said of the game against Iowa City West. 'I think everyone was playing at the top of their game.”

The Cougars kept fighting in the championship, but could not put away the Little Hawks. The teams traded points in the opening game, and City High held a 15-13 edge. A block from City High sophomore Shannon Stamp sent the Little Hawks on a run, and they claimed 9 of the final 12 points to take the first game.

'City High just played a fantastic match,” Kennedy Coach Michelle Goodall said. 'They were firing on all cylinders and were really high energy.”

The Little Hawks kept firing in the second game, opening a 17-7 lead. Brinley Milbrath's kill kept the Cougars going, making the score 17-8. City High's Alex Aldrich-Ingram answered with a kill of her own to put the Little Hawks back in command.

'We all got our job done right away,” Aldrich-Ingram said. 'We didn't take five points to get it done, we got it done right away.”

Facing match point, the Cougars kept fighting. Down 24-13, Cedar Rapids Kennedy kept swinging, scoring three straight points, but could not overcome the Little Hawks.

'Sometimes you'd think the level of volleyball would decrease after six matches,” Pitcher said. 'I thought ours at the end was very strong. Maybe we did get better.

'Maybe it just takes us six hours to warm up.”