West Delaware scrambles from behind, wins Independence Volleyball Invite

INDEPENDENCE — Joe Schmitz grimaced and held his forefinger and thumb an inch apart.

“That close,” he said. “But that’s why West Delaware is West Delaware.”

Down a set and trailing 19-13 in the second, the Class 3A second-ranked Hawks made it all the way back and edged No. 11 Independence, 23-25, 25-22, 15-11 in the championship match of the Independence Volleyball Invitational on Saturday at Independence High School.

“In that last timeout, (WD Coach Brett Mather) talked about building some momentum,” Hawks junior Alivia Schulte said. “It really was about one point at a time.”

Schulte was a bit erratic with her swing through the early portion of the match. But she was golden in the clutch.

“My teammates really helped pick me up, cheering me on,” she said. “It’s all about our team.”

Mather said, “Part of that, at the end, we stopped going for the high-risk shots. We were going for the high-percentage shots.”

The Hawks (7-1) still trailed 22-18, but closed the set with seven straight points to square the match. Schulte had kills for the 23rd and 24th points in that run.

Then, in the finale, the Hawks emerged from a 6-6 tie. Championship point was another Schulte kill.

West Delaware swept its way through pool play, outscoring Janesville, Benton Community and Alburnett by a 126-52 margin. That’s decisive.

Then the Hawks handled Starmont, 25-16, 25-11, in the semifinals.

Independence (4-4) recovered from a 9 a.m. pool loss to Starmont, winning its next two pool matches, against Oelwein and Union Community.

“That’s all part of our growth,” said Schmitz, the Mustangs’ coach. “We’re trying to figure out who we are. But we were able to make it all the way back to the finals.

“I feel a lot better about our team after what I saw today.”

Indee handled Janesville, 25-18, 25-14, in the semifinals. The Mustangs led throughout the first set in the championship match and held a substantial lead in the second.

But as Schmitz said, West Delaware is West Delaware.

“We have great leaders,” Mather said. “(Carlee) Smith and (Ella) Koloc are our captains, but we have other seniors that are leading us in great ways.”

INDEPENDENCE VOLLEYBALL INVITATIONAL

Pool A

Teams — 1. Independence 2-1, 2. Starmont 2-1, 3. Union Community 2-1, 4. Oelwein 0-3.

Starmont def. Independence, 21-18, 15-21, 15-12

Union def. Oelwein, 21-7, 21-12

Independence def. Oelwein, 21-16, 21-13

Union def. Starmont, 21-19, 18-21, 15-12

Independence def. Union, 21-11, 21-6

Starmont def. Oelwein, 21-17, 21-7

Pool B

Teams — 1. West Delaware 3-0, 2. Janesville 2-1, 3. Benton Community 1-2, 4. Alburnett 0-3.

West Delaware def. Janesville, 21-4, 21-15

Benton def. Alburnett, 21-13, 21-10

West Delaware def. Benton, 21-11, 21-10

Janesville def. Alburnett, 21-9, 21-12

West Delaware def. Alburnett, 21-9, 21-3

Janesville def. Benton, 21-14, 21-19

Semifinals

Independence def. Janesville, 25-18, 25-14

West Delaware def. Starmont, 25-16, 25-11

Championship

West Delaware def. Independence, 23-25, 25-22, 15-11

Comments: jeff.linder@thegazette.com