Schaller-Crestland drops five-gamer to No. 4 AGWSR
By Terry Hersom | Posted: Friday, November 14, 2008
Schaller-Crestland's Katie Murra hits the ball over AGWSR's Jenna Boyle and Megan Pieters during their Class 1A quarterfinal match Thursday at the Iowa High School State Volleyball Tournament in U.S. Cellular Center in Cedar Rapids. (Staff photo by Tim Hynds)
CEDAR RAPIDS, Iowa -- The first big momentum swing had Schaller-Crestland heading toward a major state volleyball tournament upset Friday afternoon at the U.S. Cellular Center.
When the pendulum swung back to heavily favored Ackley AGWSR, however, the fourth-ranked Cougars made certain it stayed there.
A school with a rich state basketball tournament tradition, AGWSR was making its first trip to the volleyball tourney. Nonetheless, Coach Adam Bosch's team looked right at home in the opening set, cruising past No. 11 Schaller-Crestland 25-12.
Little might anyone have anticipated a match in which AGWSR would finally survive 25-12, 25-27, 22-25, 25-13, 15-6.
"We needed that fourth game,'' sighed Schaller-Crestland Coach Marilyn Murra, who started the volleyball program at Schaller High School in 1977. "We needed to push it and we didn't. We kind of sat back on our heels a little bit, unfortunately. But we did the best we could.''
This was Murra's sixth state tournament team, but it was her first since the last of three straight trips in 1997. Making the 11-year wait more special was a lineup that was led all season by the coach's daughter, Katie, a 6-foot senior.
"I know we could've done better, but we put it all on the court today,'' said Katie Murra. "We just kind of crumbled under the pressure, but I know we did very well as a team today.''
AGWSR, made up of students from Ackley, Geneva, Wellsburg and Steamboat Rock, had its back to the wall after two tight verdicts lifted Schaller-Crestland in front two games to one.
"I just told them that we dug ourselves a hole and it was time to dig ourselves out of it,'' said AGWSR's Bosch. "We've had another five-set match and won that, so we knew we could do it.''
That other five-gamer was a noteworthy success over Dike-New Hartford, last year's Class 2A state runner-up and once again the team expected to challenge Hull Western Christian's perennial 2A champs.
Macy Ubben, a 6-2 senior, led a towering Ackley front line with 18 kills while 5-9 outside hitter Cassidy Ringena backed her up with 17. Together with 10 kills by 6-foot senior Jessica McDowell, a University of Northern Iowa basketball recruit, the Cougars' three big guns totaled 45 of their 56 kills.
"They have a huge front row,'' said Marilyn Murra, whose team bowed out at 27-8. "It's tough to get around that.
Schaller-Crestland totaled a modest 35 kills in the five-gamer, getting 11 from 5-9 sophomore Roxanne Grundmeier and 10 from 5-10 junior Chelsea Clayton. Season leader Katie Murra followed with eight kills and four of the Wildcats' nine ace serves.
S-C scored the last two points to pull out the 27-25 win in Game 2, then outpointed Ackley 5-2 to snap a 20-20 deadlock in Game 3, capping it with a Katie Murra kill.
That's when AGWSR came to life with a dominant Game 4 that carried over to Game 5. The Cougars trailed only 2-1 in that one, scoring the next four points to take the lead for good. Their margin was 8-5 when they ran off six points in a row to lock it up, getting the 15-6 verdict on a kill by Ringena.
"It's all a blur to me right now,'' said the S-C's Murra, whose nephew, Will, guided Tripoli to a win over Kingsley-Pierson in another first-round Class 1A match. "They started hitting the ball and we just weren't getting our hands up like we should have been. They're very strong.''
Photo gallery
See photos of the Schaller-Crestland vs. AGWSR game
When the pendulum swung back to heavily favored Ackley AGWSR, however, the fourth-ranked Cougars made certain it stayed there.
A school with a rich state basketball tournament tradition, AGWSR was making its first trip to the volleyball tourney. Nonetheless, Coach Adam Bosch's team looked right at home in the opening set, cruising past No. 11 Schaller-Crestland 25-12.
Little might anyone have anticipated a match in which AGWSR would finally survive 25-12, 25-27, 22-25, 25-13, 15-6.
"We needed that fourth game,'' sighed Schaller-Crestland Coach Marilyn Murra, who started the volleyball program at Schaller High School in 1977. "We needed to push it and we didn't. We kind of sat back on our heels a little bit, unfortunately. But we did the best we could.''
This was Murra's sixth state tournament team, but it was her first since the last of three straight trips in 1997. Making the 11-year wait more special was a lineup that was led all season by the coach's daughter, Katie, a 6-foot senior.
"I know we could've done better, but we put it all on the court today,'' said Katie Murra. "We just kind of crumbled under the pressure, but I know we did very well as a team today.''
AGWSR, made up of students from Ackley, Geneva, Wellsburg and Steamboat Rock, had its back to the wall after two tight verdicts lifted Schaller-Crestland in front two games to one.
"I just told them that we dug ourselves a hole and it was time to dig ourselves out of it,'' said AGWSR's Bosch. "We've had another five-set match and won that, so we knew we could do it.''
That other five-gamer was a noteworthy success over Dike-New Hartford, last year's Class 2A state runner-up and once again the team expected to challenge Hull Western Christian's perennial 2A champs.
Macy Ubben, a 6-2 senior, led a towering Ackley front line with 18 kills while 5-9 outside hitter Cassidy Ringena backed her up with 17. Together with 10 kills by 6-foot senior Jessica McDowell, a University of Northern Iowa basketball recruit, the Cougars' three big guns totaled 45 of their 56 kills.
"They have a huge front row,'' said Marilyn Murra, whose team bowed out at 27-8. "It's tough to get around that.
Schaller-Crestland totaled a modest 35 kills in the five-gamer, getting 11 from 5-9 sophomore Roxanne Grundmeier and 10 from 5-10 junior Chelsea Clayton. Season leader Katie Murra followed with eight kills and four of the Wildcats' nine ace serves.
S-C scored the last two points to pull out the 27-25 win in Game 2, then outpointed Ackley 5-2 to snap a 20-20 deadlock in Game 3, capping it with a Katie Murra kill.
That's when AGWSR came to life with a dominant Game 4 that carried over to Game 5. The Cougars trailed only 2-1 in that one, scoring the next four points to take the lead for good. Their margin was 8-5 when they ran off six points in a row to lock it up, getting the 15-6 verdict on a kill by Ringena.
"It's all a blur to me right now,'' said the S-C's Murra, whose nephew, Will, guided Tripoli to a win over Kingsley-Pierson in another first-round Class 1A match. "They started hitting the ball and we just weren't getting our hands up like we should have been. They're very strong.''
Photo gallery
See photos of the Schaller-Crestland vs. AGWSR game
Story Comments
Read More and Post Comments 0 comment(s)
Please note: The following are comments from readers. In no way do they represent the views of The Sioux City Journal or Lee Enterprises. We will not edit or alter your comments, but we do reserve the right to not post or to remove comments that violate our code of conduct. No comment may contain potentially libelous statements; obscene, explicit or racist language; personal attacks, insults or threats. Terms of Service
