Ryan Murken

Your Prep Sports

IOWA CITY – In her final prep season Kelsey Law has evolved into one of the top hitters in Class 5A.

It wasn’t long ago that Law was more of a wild swinger instead of a polished hitter.

“I used to just kind of swing away and the ball would go where ever,” Law said. “I’ve gotten a lot better at mixing up my shots and reading the blockers.”

A four-year varsity contributor Law has led City High in kills each of the past three seasons increasing her season kill total each year.

After relying on raw power and hard swings in her first few seasons Law has worked to become a complete hitter.

This season the City High senior has put it all together.

Law has hammered a career-best 307 kills for No. 14 City High (17-14) enter Monday’s Class 5A, Region 4 title game against sixth-ranked West Des Moines Dowling (31-11).

“I think she is seeing things better and is able to try to take what the block is doing and what the defense is giving her and hitting it to where they aren’t able to defend it,” City High coach Tricia Carty said. “She has come a long way in that regard.”

Law has always been tough to defend collecting 562 kills in her first three seasons.

This fall the 5-foot-11 Law has emerged as one of the top hitters in the state.

Her 4.87 kills per set lead Class 5A and her .319 hitting percentage is fifth best in 5A among players with at least 300 kills.

“I knew she had it in her,” Carty said. “We are a little bit different team this year, we don’t have as balanced of an offense as we have had previously so she’s had to carry more of the load and I knew she was capable of handling that but she has exceeded my expectations in how she has carried that load.”

Law posted double digit kill totals in three of the final five matches of the regular season.

Following a 10-day break without a match, Law pounded a match-high 19 kills in a three-set sweep of West High in a Region 4 semifinal on Tuesday.

“The break was good for us, it gave us a little time to think about what we needed to work on,” Law said. “We had a lot of things that we could practice and we looked at it as a fresh start.”

Law had at least 13 kills in all seven of the best of five matches that she played in this season averaging 19.2 kills in those contests.

“She has gone out night after night knowing that teams are going to key on her and she is still getting us a lot of kills when we need it,” Carty said. “I have bene really excited to see that part of her game develop over the course of the season.”

Law credits her senior season success on her ability to add to her arsenal of shots.

After relying on one style as a young player Law views herself as a complete hitter capable of hitting multiple shots.

“I just worked on reading blocks and being able to hit different shots,” Law said. “I’m a lot better now at mixing up my shots.”

Law will attempt to extend her career on Monday against West Des Moines Dowling as City High seeks its first state tournament trip since 2014.

“We know they are a tough team, a really good team,” Law said. “If we play the way we are capable of I think we can compete with anyone.”

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