West Liberty volleyball makes its deepest Westside Invitational run ever

CEDAR RAPIDS — They just played.

“We didn’t think about the other teams that were on the other side of the net,” West Liberty’s Macy Daufeldt said. “We were using this as a way to prepare ourselves for the conference tournament and the postseason.”

Along the way, the Comets went further than they’d ever gone before at the Westside Invitational volleyball tournament.

Class 3A seventh-ranked West Liberty took down four ranked opponents and advanced to the championship match Saturday at Jefferson High School. It took a juggernaut — 2A No. 1 Dike-New Hartford — to take them down, 25-12, 25-11.

“I think we played really relaxed,” West Liberty Coach Ruben Galvan said. “(Setter) Brooklyn (Buysse) did a really good job of getting everybody involved.”

Just to get to the Westside championship bracket is an accomplishment. West Liberty made it to the semifinals in 2015, the year it went on to reach the 3A state final.

Daufeldt’s older sister, Hailey, was on that team. Macy would like to match that, or more.

“We can do anything we put our minds to,” she said. “We’re capable of doing something amazing.”

A win over Mount Vernon in their final pool match gave the Comets (29-3) a boost for bracket play. They topped 1A No. 1 Burlington Notre Dame, 29-27, 25-16, in the quarterfinals, then defeated 4A No. 5 Marion in the semis, 25-22, 25-23.

Dike-New Hartford (45-1) simply was too much in the title match.

“They’re amazing,” Daufeldt said. “We were tired. It had been a long day.”

DNH has won 11 straight matches since a loss two weeks ago to Iowa City Liberty. And the Wolverines didn’t come close to dropping a set Saturday.

Marion (31-7) had two big highlights on its way to the semifinals, knocking off Ankeny Centennial in pool play and West Des Moines Dowling in the quarterfinals.

Both of those teams are ranked in the top six in Class 5A.

“We have to keep pushing,” Coach Roxanne Paulsen said. “We don’t want to be satisfied. We don’t want this to be the highlight of our season. We want it to be a stepping stone.”

Down 13-11 in Game 3 against Dowling, the Wolves scored the final four points, the last on an ace by Elise Mehaffy.

All-stater Elise Van Hook went down with an apparent sprained left ankle on the second-to-last point against West Liberty.

West Delaware (33-4) was a pool champion, including a victory over Dowling. The Hawks fell to Centennial in the quarterfinals. Mount Vernon (26-12) also reached the championship bracket.

WESTSIDE INVITATIONAL VOLLEYBALL TOURNAMENT

At C.R. Jefferson

Pool A

Teams — 1. Dike-New Hartford 3-0, 2. Burlington Notre Dame 2-1, 3. Iowa City West 1-2, 4. C.R. Washington 0-3.

Notre Dame def. Iowa City West, 21-18, 22-20

Dike-New Hartford def. C.R. Washington, 21-6, 21-5

Iowa City West def. C.R. Washington, 21-12, 22-20

Dike-New Hartford def. Notre Dame, 21-8, 21-13

Notre Dame def. C.R. Washington, 16-21, 21-17, 15-7

Dike-New Hartford def. Iowa City West, 21-17, 21-18

Pool B

Teams — 1. West Liberty 3-0, 2. Mount Vernon 2-1, 3. Grundy Center 1-2, 4. C.R. Jefferson 0-3.

Mount Vernon def. Grundy Center, 21-12, 18-21, 18-16

West Liberty def. C.R. Jefferson, 21-16, 21-18

Mount Vernon def. C.R. Jefferson, 21-14, 21-15

West Liberty def. Grundy Center, 21-15, 21-11

Grundy Center def. C.R. Jefferson, 21-7, 18-21, 15-9

West Liberty def. Mount Vernon, 24-22, 21-19

Pool C

Teams — 1. Marion 3-0, 2. Ankeny Centennial 2-1, 3. Dubuque Hempstead 1-2, 4. Des Moines Roosevelt 0-3.

Marion def. Dubuque Hempstead, 21-13, 17-21, 15-13

Ankeny Centennial def. Des Moines Roosevelt, 21-16, 21-13

Marion def. Des Moines Roosevelt, 21-12, 21-8

Ankeny Centennial def. Dubuque Hempstead, 21-12, 21-9

Dubuque Hempstead def. Des Moines Roosevelt, 21-18, 23-21

Marion def. Ankeny Centennial, 21-18, 15-21, 15-5

Pool D

Teams — 1. West Delaware 3-0, 2. West Des Moines Dowling 2-1, 3. Linn-Mar 1-2, 4. Tripoli 0-3.

Dowling def. Linn-Mar 21-12, 21-9

West Delaware def. Tripoli, 21-8, 21-9

Dowling def. Tripoli, 21-13, 21-9

West Delaware def. Linn-Mar, 21-12, 16-21, 15-10

Linn-Mar def. Tripoli, 21-14, 21-12

West Delaware def. Dowling, 21-19, 19-21, 21-19

Consolation Quarterfinals

C.R. Jefferson def. Iowa City West, 25-19, 17-25, 17-15

Linn-Mar def. Des Moines Roosesvelt, 25-13, 25-21

Dubuque Hempstead def. Tripoli, 23-25, 25-14, 15-7

Grundy Center def. C.R. Washington, 25-16, 25-19

Consolation Semifinals

Linn-Mar def. C.R. Jefferson, 25-17, 19-25. 15-4

Grundy Center def. Dubuque Hempstead, 16-25, 25-21, 15-9

Consolation Final

Grundy Center def. Linn-Mar, 26-24, 25-23

Quarterfinals

Dike-New Hartford def. Mount Vernon, 25-10, 25-12

Ankeny Centennial def. West Delaware, 25-23, 25-21

Marion def. West Des Moines Dowling, 25-18, 23-25, 15-13

West Liberty def. Burlington Notre Dame, 29-27, 25-16

Semifinals

Dike-New Hartford def. Ankeny Centennial, 25-13, 25-18

West Liberty def. Marion, 25-22, 25-23

Championship

Dike-New Hartford def. West Liberty, 25-12, 25-11

Comments: jeff.linder@thegazette.com