Janesville sweeps Tripoli in state volleyball semifinals

CEDAR RAPIDS - There is little chance top-ranked Janesville will take Friday's state volleyball title match for granted.

The three-time defending Class 1A champions have a senior class that has known nothing but success at the state tournament.

Now, they are one match away from a perfect state career after an impressive 25-11, 25-21 25-12 win over No. 6 Tripoli on Thursday night in the semifinals.

Bree Thompson is one of six seniors on the roster who has never lost a set, let alone a match during their fantastic run. That is a source of tremendous pride for that group.

'It means a lot to me, always have my teammates' backs,” she said. 'It's just a really fun experience to go out there with my teammates who I've been together with for so long. It is just really cool.”

Tripoli, which closes at 24-16, took a set earlier in the season from its Iowa Star Conference rival. Thompson said the team took notice of that.

'We realized that they are a good team,” she said. 'We thought if we came out with a bang, we could beat them in three,” said Thompson, who finished with 20 kills in 31 attempts.”

Game 2 was close most of the way before Janesville pulled away late. The Wildcats (44-6) jumped to an 11-1 lead in Game 3 and never looked back.

'The end goal has kept us motivated,” Thompson said. 'We've known what we wanted to accomplish since summer workouts.”