Ryan Murken

Your Prep Sports

IOWA CITY – Playing at its home tournament Saturday was a rollercoaster of a day for City High.

Back-to-back three-set wins over ranked opponents Regina and Bettendorf opened the tournament on a high note.

Three consecutive two-set losses to Ankeny Centennial, Burlington and Council Bluffs Lewis Central to close the day were the low point.

The focus for the Little Hawks in their return to the court on Tuesday was to avoid the ups and downs.

Class 5A No. 14 City High found some consistency on Tuesday and got back in the win column with a 25-19, 25-10, 25-10 sweep of Cedar Rapids Washington in a Mississippi Valley Conference Valley Division match in Iowa City.

“What we were looking for is that consistency with our skills but also with our mindset,” City High junior Kaitlin Loria said. “One thing that we are always working on is keeping our minds in it and having a short memory.”

Loria had a match-high nine and Maeve Obermueller added seven kills as City High improved to 4-6 on the season and moved to 2-1 in MVC Valley Division action.

“On Saturday our first two games we came out so strong, we played amazing our first two games but then when we played Ankeny Centennial that took a toll on our confidence, then the fourth and fifth games we got tired and our confidence was down,” Loria explained. “Today we were more consistent.”

Hattie Galloway added five kills, four ace serves and three blocks on Tuesday as City High finished with 12 aces and a 27-12 edge in kills.

“It’s always nice to get a win but it’s definitely good to be able to reset after a big tournament,” Galloway said. “We were able to execute in three sets tonight.”

Playing without a couple of regulars in the rotation and coming off a five-match day on Saturday the Little Hawks started a little sluggish on Tuesday.City High trailed 8-7 in the opening set and led just 14-13 after a four-point Warrior run.

The Little Hawks responded with a 5-0 burst that featured kills from Raine Pfohl and Halle Larew and back-to-back kills from Loria.

“Our passing was more on point later than it was the first half of the first set,” Loria said. “We struggled a little bit with our passing tonight but it sharpened up and once the passing locked down it was great.”

City High won the opening set 25-19 and rolled in the final two sets.

The Little Hawks jumped to a 9-2 lead on its way to a 25-10 win in the second set and built a 17-5 cushion while winning the third set 25-10.

“I think we did a good job of just continuing to get better throughout the game,” Galloway said. “Sometimes we come out strong and if we drop a set it goes down from there so tonight it was good to get it in three and play better throughout the match.”

Pfohl finished with four kills while Jessi Kucera and Elise Jespersen and Loria each had two ace serves. Carolyn Giese

“I think that the girls are really stepping up and trusting us as a coaching staff,” City High coach Carolyn Giese said. “Whatever we tell them to do they are trying to implement and they are being adaptable.”

Cedar Rapids Washington (1-7, 0-3) was led by Maliyah Borchardt with five kills and Gabbie Sawyer with nine assists, a kill, two ace serves and a block.

CR Washington        19  10  10

City High                   25  25  25

City High (Kills-aces-blocks)

Maeve Obermueller 7-0-0, Mirin Oxley 1-0-0, Jessi Kucera 0-2-0, Elise Jespersen 0-2-0, Halle Larew 1-1-0, Kaitlin Loria 9-2-1, Hattie Galloway 5-4-3, Molly Carlson 0-1-0, Raine Pfohl 4-0-1, Totals 27-12-5.

Assists – Elise Jespersen 14, Amilia Mendoza 11

Cedar Rapids Washington (Kills-aces-blocks)

Ava Pasker 2-0-0, Maliyah Borchardt 5-0-0, Sophia Gonzalez 2-0-0, Hailey Becker 1-2-0, Gabbie Sawyer 1-2-1, Elliana Puckett 1-1-1, Aubrey Arensdorf 0-1-0, Totals 12-6-2.

Assists – Gabbie Sawyer 9

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