Osage serves — and sweeps — Wilton out of the 2A state volleyball tournament

CEDAR RAPIDS — Surely they saw something.

Something on tape. A hint. A clue.

Right?

“We didn’t watch any film,” Claudia Aschenbrenner said. “We’re not a big film team.”

The Osage Green Devils don’t go by film. They go by feel. And after their match Tuesday, they felt pretty darn good.

No. 9 Osage served 14 aces and swept No. 2 Wilton, 25-19, 25-20, 25-22, in a Class 2A quarterfinal at the state volleyball tournament Tuesday afternoon.

» Photo gallery: Osage vs. Wilton in state volleyball tournament

“Last year, we were the big dogs. This year, we’re the underdogs,” Aschbrenner said. “Our motto is to reload, not to rebuild.”

Last year’s Class 3A state champion, Osage (29-9) advances to the semifinal round; it will face No. 3 Western Christian (39-5) at 4 p.m. Wednesday.

“Winning a championship, we know what it feels like to win,” Meredith Street said. “We came in as the 7 (seed), and we thought we were a little underrated.”

The proof came Tuesday. And a lot of it came from the service line. The Green Devils served five aces in each of the two sets, four in the third.

Wilton (36-3), meanwhile, managed just one ace against nine service errors.

Osage rolled through the first two sets without much resistance. Game 3 was more of a challenge. Back-to-back kills by Kaebre Sullivan put the Green Devils in front, 18-16, and they maintained a slim lead the rest of the way.

Aschenbrenner paced the Green Devils with 13 kills, and Street — a 5-foot-6 outside and a UNI commit — added 11.

Sydney Muller served four of the Green Devils’ large collection of aces. Street and Aschenbrenner added three apiece.

Kelsey Drake accumulated 16 kills and nine digs for Wilton, which was making its fourth straight state appearance.

Comments: jeff.linder@thegazette.com