Ryan Murken

Your Prep Sports

CEDAR RAPIDS – There have been plenty of factors that have contributed to Liberty High swiftly ascending into a volleyball power in just four seasons.

One of the biggest reasons for Liberty High’s rapid rise put on quite a show on Wednesday while lifting the Lightning to even great heights.

Sophomore Cassidy Hartman hammered a career-high 35 kills as fifth-ranked Liberty High (24-2) advanced to the Class 5A title game with a 25-19, 23-25, 25-15, 23-25, 15-12 semifinal win over top-ranked West Des Moines Dowling (22-3) at the Alliant Energy Powerhouse in Cedar Rapids.

“She has done so much for us, she has helped us break out from an average team to being awesome,” Liberty High senior setter Hailey Hested said of Hartman.  “She has really stepped up as a vocal leader on the court and she’s always there and she was just amazing today.”

Amazing indeed.

Hartman had eight of her match-high 35 kills in the decisive fifth set as Liberty High avenged a four-set loss at Dowling (22-3) on September 3.

The win was the 16^th straight for Liberty High which will now face second-ranked Ankeny (21-2) in the 5A championship match on Thursday at 10 a.m.

“I was really on and I knew my team was there for me so if I swung my hardest my teammates would be there to cover so I just played my hardest,” Hartman said. “It’s amazing to see how far we have come.”

In the biggest game of her career Hartman was locked in from the outset.

The 6-foot sophomore had seven kills in the opening set and locked up a 25-19 Lightning win with an ace serve.

“I sort of noticed that every ball I was hitting was going down,” Hartman said. “I just told my setters to keep feeding me.”

Liberty High setters Hested and freshman Mariah Rollins listened.

Hartman had at least four kills in each set including eight in a fourth set that saw Liberty High surrender a late 22-20 lead.

Before the fifth set Hested told Hartman the ball was coming her way.

“Hailey told me to just be ready to get the ball,” Hartman said. “She trusted me.”

Liberty High never trailed in the fifth set after sophomore Shelby Kimm opened the scoring with a kill.

Liberty High took an 8-1 lead with a 7-0 burst that featured three kills by Hartman.

“She was insane,” Hested said. “In that fifth set it’s nice to know she’s out there and I was getting it to her because she was hot. It’s just comforting because you know you can trust her out there.”

Hartman kills accounted for seven of the final nine Liberty High points with her back row kill giving the Lightning an 11-7 lead.

Dowling clawed all the way back to 13-12 on a Lauren Havlik kill but Hartman and the Lightning wouldn’t be denied.

“At 13-12 in the last set there is no way I’m not going to her, it doesn’t matter,” Hested said. “I said, ‘I’m sorry you can be tired but you are getting the ball’.”

Hartman clinched the match with back-to-back kills, her 34^th and 35^th of the match.

“We had not played a fifth set all year and we got a little bit funky around nine or 10 and we couldn’t put the ball away,” Liberty High coach Randy Dolson said. “But we got the big number 33 in the front row when we needed her and she took it home for us.”

Hartman had help on Wednesday.

Junior Sam Harvey had 10 kills while Kennedy Daugherty had eight, Kimm 7 and Lilah VanScoyoc five.

“I came into this game and I was shaking I was so scared, I had butterflies in my stomach and felt numb in my legs but once I got my first kill I knew I had to do it again,” Harvey said. “I knew my team needed me to hit and I did my best.”

Havlik led Dowling with 16 kills while Emerson Thelen had 13 and Isabelle Kronenberg had 10.

Hested had 35 assists and a pair of serves in the win.

“Those were all close games and I think the big thing was we made plays late when we needed to,” Hested said. “We kept going late and that was a big thing.”

Liberty High                          25  23  25  23  15

West Des Moines Dowling   19  25  15  25  12

Liberty High (Kills-aces-blocks)

Lauren Roman 3-0-2, Shelby Kimm 7-0-2, Sam Harvey 10-0-1, Hailey Hested 0-2-0, Cassidy Hartman 35-4-1, Addie Schmierer 0-1-0, Kennedy Daugherty 8-0-2, Gabbie Schroeder 0-0-0, Carlie Schroeder 0-0-0, Lilah VanScoyoc 5-0-0, Mariah Rollins 0-0-0, Team 68-7-8.

Assists – Hailey Hested 35, Mariah Rollins 18, Addie Schmierer 6, Gabbie Schroeder 3, Shelby Kimm 1

West Des Moines Dowling (Kills-aces-blocks)

Emma Scheck 0-1-0, Lauren Havlik 16-0-1, Sophia Painovich 2-1-0, Samantha Schroeder 8-0-3, Emerson Thelen 13-0-0, Isabelle Kronenberg 10-0-2, Rose Fitzgeral 0-1-0, Anna Flynn 0-1-0, Olivia Nahas 8-0-1, Team 57-4-6.
Assists – Sophia Painovich 50, Anna Flynn 3, Rose Fitzgerald 1, Calliope Coppola 1, Samantha Schroeder 1.

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