East entertains familiar foe in regional semifinal
Raiders face North for fifth time
By Barry Poe | Posted: Thursday, October 30, 2008
It's been a breakthrough season, of sorts, for the East High volleyball team.
The Black Raiders of Coach Kim Mounts, who open Iowa Class 4A regional play tonight at home against city rival North, have accomplished a number of firsts. Most of those, by the way, came in weekend tournaments.
"We were unbeaten in the Cherokee tournament, made the gold bracket at Hull Western Christian, finished 2-0 in the Heelan tournament and 4-2 in our own tournament," said Mounts, in her seventh season as head coach. "We feel like we made a lot of improvement, especially in those weekend tournaments."
East (22-17) drew a first-round regional bye and entertains a 21-16 North squad that swept West in an opening-round match on Monday. It's the fifth meeting of the season between the two, East winning the first three before North turned the tables with a sweep last Tuesday.
Meanwhile, third-ranked Bishop Heelan (37-11) hosts Denison-Schleswig (9-18) in a Class 3A semifinal at the Heelan High Gym.
Both matches get under way at 7 o'clock.
"We struggled terminating the last time we played North," said East's Mounts. "But they've been playing pretty strong lately and have improved a lot."
Mounts said serve reception has been a big key to her team's success. That and the fact that there are five hitters the team can turn to at any time.
Emily McCarthy, a 5-10 senior, has a team-high 277 kills, an average of 2.6 per game. Melissa Mounts, a 5-8 sophomore and the coach's daughter, has contributed 225 kills, or 2.1 an outing. Then there's seniors Brianna Mozer (178 kills), Megan Stiles (175) and Erin Kiel (140).
Erin Frank, a junior setter, has 679 assists and leads the Black Raiders with 72 ace serves.
And, it's not like East has shied away from tough competition. Nine of the Black Raiders' losses have come to either Bishop Heelan or Western Christian, the defending state champions in Class 3A and 2A.
"Our main focus will be their outside hitters, Brittni Donaldson and Audrey Erickson," said Mounts. "We feel like another key for us will be to serve tough and try to get them out of their system."
North's Donaldson, a 5-7 sophomore, has hammered a team-high 260 kills (2.6 pg) while Erickson, a 5-10 senior, is right behind with 258. Donaldson has also been a force at the service line with 112 aces while senior setter Julia Vander Wilt has 567 assists.
The winner of tonight's match plays either second-ranked Ankeny or Ames in a regional final Tuesday at Fort Dodge.
Bishop Heelan, gunning for its third straight 3A title, got off to a rousing start with a 25-10, 25-8, 25-13 sweep of Sergeant Bluff-Luton in a regional opener Tuesday.
Junior Carli Tritz, one of four returnees from the Crusaders' regular seven-player rotation last year, leads a balanced attack with 257 kills. Seniors Baylee Strachan, a transfer from North, and Kelsey Tweet have 239 and 213, respectively.
The 6-foot Tweet has charted an impressive 115 total blocks while Strachan has 127 ace serves. Sophomore Leisa McClintock has 86 ace serves and 790 assists.
Denison-Schleswig advanced to the regional semifinal with a five-set victory over Storm Lake. The winner of tonight's match plays either Spencer or MOC-Floyd Valley in a regional final Tuesday at West High.
Heelan, shooting for its 11th straight trip to the state tournament, leads the state in both ace serves and digs.
The Black Raiders of Coach Kim Mounts, who open Iowa Class 4A regional play tonight at home against city rival North, have accomplished a number of firsts. Most of those, by the way, came in weekend tournaments.
"We were unbeaten in the Cherokee tournament, made the gold bracket at Hull Western Christian, finished 2-0 in the Heelan tournament and 4-2 in our own tournament," said Mounts, in her seventh season as head coach. "We feel like we made a lot of improvement, especially in those weekend tournaments."
East (22-17) drew a first-round regional bye and entertains a 21-16 North squad that swept West in an opening-round match on Monday. It's the fifth meeting of the season between the two, East winning the first three before North turned the tables with a sweep last Tuesday.
Meanwhile, third-ranked Bishop Heelan (37-11) hosts Denison-Schleswig (9-18) in a Class 3A semifinal at the Heelan High Gym.
Both matches get under way at 7 o'clock.
"We struggled terminating the last time we played North," said East's Mounts. "But they've been playing pretty strong lately and have improved a lot."
Mounts said serve reception has been a big key to her team's success. That and the fact that there are five hitters the team can turn to at any time.
Emily McCarthy, a 5-10 senior, has a team-high 277 kills, an average of 2.6 per game. Melissa Mounts, a 5-8 sophomore and the coach's daughter, has contributed 225 kills, or 2.1 an outing. Then there's seniors Brianna Mozer (178 kills), Megan Stiles (175) and Erin Kiel (140).
Erin Frank, a junior setter, has 679 assists and leads the Black Raiders with 72 ace serves.
And, it's not like East has shied away from tough competition. Nine of the Black Raiders' losses have come to either Bishop Heelan or Western Christian, the defending state champions in Class 3A and 2A.
"Our main focus will be their outside hitters, Brittni Donaldson and Audrey Erickson," said Mounts. "We feel like another key for us will be to serve tough and try to get them out of their system."
North's Donaldson, a 5-7 sophomore, has hammered a team-high 260 kills (2.6 pg) while Erickson, a 5-10 senior, is right behind with 258. Donaldson has also been a force at the service line with 112 aces while senior setter Julia Vander Wilt has 567 assists.
The winner of tonight's match plays either second-ranked Ankeny or Ames in a regional final Tuesday at Fort Dodge.
Bishop Heelan, gunning for its third straight 3A title, got off to a rousing start with a 25-10, 25-8, 25-13 sweep of Sergeant Bluff-Luton in a regional opener Tuesday.
Junior Carli Tritz, one of four returnees from the Crusaders' regular seven-player rotation last year, leads a balanced attack with 257 kills. Seniors Baylee Strachan, a transfer from North, and Kelsey Tweet have 239 and 213, respectively.
The 6-foot Tweet has charted an impressive 115 total blocks while Strachan has 127 ace serves. Sophomore Leisa McClintock has 86 ace serves and 790 assists.
Denison-Schleswig advanced to the regional semifinal with a five-set victory over Storm Lake. The winner of tonight's match plays either Spencer or MOC-Floyd Valley in a regional final Tuesday at West High.
Heelan, shooting for its 11th straight trip to the state tournament, leads the state in both ace serves and digs.
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