Grundy exacts revenges, down rival Dike-New Hartford

CEDAR RAPIDS - You've got to say Darwin Sents has a definite grasp of the obvious. When asked the difference between his team's regular-season encounter with neighborhood rival Dike-New Hartford and last night's dual at the state tournament, the Grundy Center volleyball coach responded with this:“We won this time,” Sents said. “That's the big difference.”Boy, howdy, there, Coach. The Spartans picked the perfect time to avenge that middle-season loss, posting a 25-16 22-25, 25-20, 25-19 Class 2A quarterfinal victory last night at the U.S. Cellular Center.So much for that barrier of youth thing. Grundy (38-5) has just one senior on a roster of 13, starting two sophomores and four juniors.But these kids can sure play.“None of us had been to state before, so our adrenalin was pumping like crazy,” said tremendous Grundy Center outside hitter Abby Graves, the best player on the court last night. “I think playing them earlier ... we made some (letups), which you can't do. Here, I think you've just got to play (all out).”That was the message Sents said he sent, no pun intended, to his girls going into this one. You've got to play hard at all times to beat a team with the tradition of Dike.“We have such a great rivalry with them,” Sents said. “They are so well coached and always do a great job. We knew there was no taking a point off. You have to get after it and get it done, and the girls did that.”Even in the Game 2 loss, Grundy was good, rallying from deficits of 8-1 and 15-6 to tie things at 22-22. Dike-New Hartford (35-9) was able to pull the game out on a Kaity Brouwer block, but a tone had been set.“We didn't let that get to us at all,” Graves said. “We played our hearts out that second game just to try and catch back up. Then we just kept that momentum going.”“They're a very good team, a very strong team,” said Dike-New Hartford Coach Diane Harms. “They just a better job of controlling the ball tonight than we did.”That lone senior, Graves - who is headed to play at Division II Northwest Missouri State next year - finished with 15 kills, complimented well by sophomore Samantha Meyers' 16 kills. Heather Hook, also a sophomore, had a game-high 38 assists.Brouwer's 12 kills paced D-NH. Grundy moves on to play Western Christian (45-3) in tonight's 2A semifinals.“They're a very, very good volleyball team,” Graves said. “We have to do what we just did. I'm very proud of what we did tonight.”