Run to state ends in Regional final for Iowa Valley

WASHINGTON - In the end, it came down to mistakes.

The Class 1A Regional final between No. 5 New London and No. 15 Iowa Valley saw one side play nearly flawless volleyball and the other fight back in an effort to make history.

Unfortunately for Iowa Valley, there would be no first trip to the state tournament at the U.S. Cellular Center in Cedar Rapids, as New London left the Washington High School gym with a 4-1 win, 25-10, 25-19, 23-25, 25-21.

'New London didn't make mistakes tonight, it's kind of that simple,” said Iowa Valley Coach Greg Jergens. 'They didn't err very much at all, and played better than they've been playing. We did some uncharacteristic things; our young kids were a little rattled early - it was pretty obvious. We were making errors we hadn't made.

'I do give New London credit, they weren't going away. We'd come at ‘em, and they'd stay steady and just keep going.”

Iowa Valley stumbled out of the gate to start the match, as Jergens alluded to, but steadily gained confidence and play evened out as the match wore on.

They survived multiple four- and five-point runs in the third set to avoid a sweep, then held off match point seven straight times before New London got the final kill to advance to state. The refusal to quit is something Jergens said the team developed over the course of the season, and wasn't something people would've seen out of them early in the year.

'It just says we've grown up,” Jergens said. 'We've played a lot of young kids this year. I don't think there's a whole lot of teams out there playing two true freshmen and a sophomore and really only had two girls returning who had any court experience at all. We were very, very green.

'We took the long road to figure out what we wanted to do, and they grew up a lot this year. That just embodies what they're made of.”

New London Coach Maureen Heath said 'I thought I was going to throw up, seriously,” during the 7-0 run at the end of the fourth set by Iowa Valley. She could see the desperation and determination across the net, and didn't want any part of a fifth set against a hungry team.

'Our kids stayed focused,” Heath said. 'I don't think (Iowa Valley was) ready, to tell you the truth, in the first game, but then they showed a little in the second. And it was do-or-die in the third and they really got their offense going.

'They're a great team, so we knew we had to get those two games out ahead of them and then really put the pressure on them. They put the pressure back on us, and we knew we couldn't go to a fifth game.”

If there was no quit this season for Iowa Valley, don't expect that to develop in the eight of 11 girls returning next year.

Jergens said there was nothing he could say to ease the pain of coming so close to the team's first state tournament berth, but that they would be a force to be reckoned with in 2015.

'There's no good message. There's absolutely nothing that can cure heartbreak. Time is about it,” Jergens said. 'We lose a couple good players, but we've got the bodies to replace them. We'll be a year older next year, and people better watch out for us. I think we're a top five team starting next year. We don't lose a whole lot. I've got girls waiting to play, I've got more coming. And my freshmen are going to be a year older, my best player Marissa Ward is going to be a senior, and I guarantee she's going to want some payback.”

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