Hinrichs guts it out; Solon pulls it out

CEDAR RAPIDS -- Kelsey Hinrichs had a date with an ice pack Saturday night.

"I'm pretty sore," she said. "But I had to play through it."

A participant in a scary collision in the first game of the championship match, Hinrichs fought through the pain and led Class 3A eighth-ranked Solon past No. 10 Marion, 25-18, 20-25, 16-14, to capture the Warrior Invitational volleyball tournament Saturday at Cedar Rapids Washington.

Solon shrugged off two match points in the final game, scored the final four points and improved to 8-0.

"We just continued to battle back," said Solon Coach Kurt Trout. "We needed this as a team.

"When our libero rotated back in, I felt pretty good."

Marion (4-3) held a 14-12 lead in the deciding set before the Lady Spartans battled back. Rylee Smith's ace gave Solon match point, then Regan Johnson's kill gave the Lady Spartans the match.

"At the end, they played to win," said Marion Coach Roxanne Paulsen. "We played it a little safe. We were trying to keep the ball alive. When we had an opportunity to swing, we didn't."

A junior, Hinrichs collected 10 kills and 18 assists in the championship match. She did it despite that Game 1 collision, in which she and teammate Maegan Bruene both were trying to attack the ball. Bruene's forehead bumped hard into Hinrichs' ribs.

"I jumped and landed on top of her," said Hinrichs, who was in obvious discomfort for quite a while after the incident. "I knew I had to keep playing. I couldn't let the team down."

Marion got the point after the collision to get within 19-18, but Solon scored the next six points to take the set.

A five-point surge late in Game 2 allowed the Indians to pull away and even the match at a set apiece, then Game 3 was back and forth.

Johnson added seven kills for the Lady Spartans. Jordan Runge had six.

Jessie Kramer led Marion with six kills. Sarah Ernst collected 15 assists.

Solon swept its way through pool play, then beat Davenport Central in two games in the quarterfinals and Johnston in three in the semis.

Marion took a more harrowing path. The Indians dropped two of three pool matches, then got by Cedar Rapids Washington and Cedar Rapids Xavier in an all-Metro upper half of the bracket.

WARRIOR INVITATIONAL

At Cedar Rapids Washington

Pool A -- 1. C.R. Xavier 3-0, 2. Davenport Central 2-1, 3. Oskaloosa 1-2, 4. Sigourney 0-3.

C.R. Xavier def. Sigourney, 21-6, 21-6

Davenport Central def. Oskaloosa, 24-22, 21-19

C.R. Xavier def. Oskaloosa, 21-11, 17-21, 15-9

Davenport Central def. Sigourney, 21-15, 21-4

C.R. Xavier def. Davenport Central, 21-17, 13-21, 16-14

Oskaloosa def. Sigourney, 21-13, 21-11

Pool B -- 1. Solon 3-0, 2. C.R. Prairie 2-1, 3. Linn-Mar 1-2, 4. Davis County 0-3.

C.R. Prairie def. Linn-Mar, 21-14, 21-14

Solon def. Davis County, 21-17, 21-15

C.R. Prairie def. Davis County, 17-21, 21-19, 15-8

Solon def. Linn-Mar, 21-14, 21-8

Solon def. C.R. Prairie, 21-8, 21-14

Linn-Mar def. Davis County, 15-21, 21-19, 15-12

Pool C -- 1. C.R. Washington 2-1, 2. Marion 1-2, 3. C.R. Jefferson 0-3.

Pool D -- 1. Johnston 3-0, 2. Dyersville Beckman 2-1, 3. North Fayette 1-2.

Johnston def. C.R. Jefferson, 21-13, 21-13

C.R. Washington def. North Fayette, 21-13, 21-19

Beckman def. C.R. Jefferson, 21-15, 21-10

Johnston def. Marion, 17-21, 21-15, 15-7

Marion def. North Fayette, 21-8, 21-12

C.R. Washington def. Beckman, 24-22, 17-21, 15-12

North Fayette def. C.R. Jefferson, 21-11, 17-21, 15-11

Johnston def. C.R. Washington, 22-20, 21-13

Beckman def. Marion 21-16, 21-10

Consolation Quarterfinals

Davis County def. C.R. Jefferson, 20-25, 25-19, 15-10

Linn-Mar def. Sigourney, 25-11, 25-10

Consolation Semifinals

Oskaloosa def. Davis County, 25-19, 25-19

Linn-Mar def. North Fayette, 25-12, 22-25, 15-4

Consolation Final

Oskaloosa def. Linn-Mar, 26-24, 25-18

Quarterfinals

C.R. Xavier def. C.R. Prairie, 25-20, 25-17

Marion def. C.R. Washington, 25-14, 25-22

Johnston def. Beckman, 25-19, 25-17

Solon def. Davenport Central, 25-20, 25-19

Semifinals

Marion def. C.R. Xavier, 18-25, 25-12, 15-12

Solon def. Johnston, 17-25, 25-18, 15-9

Championship

Solon def. Marion, 25-18, 20-25, 16-14