Class 3A: Independence ends resurgent season in quarterfinals

CEDAR RAPIDS – Through one set, it looked like a fairytale ending was in play for Independence against the Class 3A No. 1 team, MOC-Floyd-Valley.

But after 15 straight losing seasons, there would be no glass slipper for the Mustangs. After winning the first set, 25-23, Independence dropped the next three, falling in four sets to the Dutch who won, 23-25, 25-16, 25-7, 25-16.

'We're obviously pretty disappointed right now, but we knew coming in what a challenge it would be tonight,' said Independence Coach Joe Schmitz. 'We can't take anything away from the year we've had. Going 35-9 and sharing the Wamac title and a lot of firsts this year.'We've accomplished a lot of great things this year.'

Through dejected looks and tears, the players and Schmitz all said after last night's loss how special 2013 was for them.

And despite the end of their season, every Mustang – most especially Schmitz – was proud of the way they fought against a team in MOC-Floyd Valley that is on a quest for its second straight state championship.After a demoralizing, 25-7, third set loss, Independence came out playing hard. Their ability to shake off the third set and give the Dutch a real scare of a fifth set – where anything can happen – was what Schmitz said defined this year for his team.

'We knew there would be a matchup problem, but our girls kept battling and kept fighting,' Schmitz said. 'They never give up, and that's been one of our trademarks all year. They battle hard.

'We've been scrappy all year and had great hearts. I wasn't shocked they came back (like that). They were frustrated, but they never gave up.'

One of only four seniors on the team, Karlie Niedert said her final season as a Mustang was nothing like she'd ever experienced.

Getting to be a part of history and sharing that with fans that supported the team like never before, she said, were the only silver linings to an otherwise disappointing ending to the state tournament.

'It's just been great being down here, knowing we get to make school history,' Niedert said. '(And) the crowd this year has been amazing. In my four years of playing here, we've never had a crowd that big, never.'We've never been here before, so now we get a trophy for that new trophy case (at school), and a banner for that gym. It's great.'

DUTCH REBOUND FROM ROUGH START

On the flip side of Independence's disappointment was a mixture of happiness and relief from the defending state champs in MOC-Floyd Valley.

Self-inflicted wounds cost the Dutch the first set, and Coach Jon Mouw said nerves probably played a role.

'That was us very uptight,' Mouw said. 'There's no doubt about it. When you miss that many serves in one set, that just means you're pretty uptight. We fought through it.

'We kind of got it together after that.'

Three straight fairly-dominant sets after that suggest Mouw was being modest, but nonetheless, the Dutch recovered and will face either Nevada or Union – which play Wednesday at 10 a.m. – in the semifinals on Thursday.

'We started getting a little more comfortable from the service line,' Mouw said. 'We just needed to find (our swings).

'We still missed a little more serves than I would like (over the final three sets), but we were serving aggressively. Overall, I was pretty happy with those last three sets.'