Photo Courtesy of Mid-Prairie Volleyball Social Media
One of the best seasons in Mid-Prairie volleyball history drew to a close Tuesday morning as the No. 8 Golden Hawks fell to No. 1 Mount Vernon in the quarterfinals of the Class 3A State Tournament at Xtream Arena in Coralville. The reigning state-runners-up took the match by sweep with scores of 25-22, 25-16 and 25-16. Set one was tight with no team holding a lead of more than four. The Mustangs kept momentum with a solid set two win. With their backs against the wall, the Hawks built leads of 8-2 and 10-5 in set three, but were ultimately caught by Mount Vernon. Chloe Meester and Sydney Maue combined for 24 kills in the match to lead the Mustangs. Eryn Jackson added 13 digs and CaliAna Whitaker four blocks. The Hawks got a triple double from Jovi Evans with 16 digs, 13 kills and 11 assists. Jeorgia Evans finished with 18 digs and Dakota Mitchell 12. Avery Helmuth had 14 assists, Katelyn Harland seven kills. Callie Huber and Harper Pacha each had three blocks. Following the match, Golden Hawk co-head coaches Sherry and Zeb Evans talked about where they saw the match decided and the accomplishments of this year’s team.
Sherry Evans said, “I think our defense was really good in the first set and the whole match. We played our way. We played fast. That’s what we had to do because they have a big front row. This group stayed together as a team and always had each other’s backs. What an incredible senior class! From the girls that see the court a lot to the others that are the biggest fans and best teammates. Everyone has a role and everyone does it well. I couldn’t be proud of who they are as people. It’s incredible to be at the State Tournament. Yes, we definitely wanted the outcome to be different but I’m not taking away any of the amazing moments we had throughout our season to make it here!”
Zeb Evans continued, “They were taking big swings and we were digging it. Then we did a great job of transitioning that defense into offense. We thought after the first set we could wear them down. We thought we could open up our pins by pushing our middles a little more.”
Mount Vernon improves to 43-4 and will match up with No. 5 Dubuque Wahlert in today’s 3A semifinals Wednesday. The Golden Eagles beat No. 4 Carroll Kuemper in four in the quarters Tuesday. Mid-Prairie ends their year at 33-9, a new school record for wins. This year’s team won the first outright River Valley Conference South championship in 20 years, the first ever back-to-back conference titles, first ever RVC South tournament championship and earned the program’s first State bid since 2004 and third ever. The Hawks say goodbye to seven seniors: Kenzington Miller, Lanee Duwa, Brylee Gearhart, Dakota Mitchell, Lilly Miller, Kyla Karnes and Callie Huber.