State volleyball roundup: Kuemper Catholic cruises, Western Christian survives and more

CEDAR RAPIDS, Ia. — No issues early for Class 3A’s top seed.

No. 1 ranked Kuemper Catholic cruised to a sweep over No. 8 Clarion-Goldfield-Dows on Wednesday to open the state tournament, winning 25-17, 25-14, 25-18 at the U.S. Cellular Center. The Knights (43-1) will face No. 5 Osage in Thursday’s semifinals at 2 p.m. Osage knocked off Davenport Assumption in five sets.

It’s hard to argue against Kuemper Catholic right now. Keith Stickrod’s squad hasn’t dropped a set since Oct. 2 and hasn’t lost since Sept. 13. The Knights will carry a 27-match winning streak into Thursday.

“I’ll push them a little bit, but they’ll push themselves even more,” Stickrod said. “You can tell before games all throughout the season; it’s something you can sense as a coach — as soon as the game is on, they go into this mode. It’s cool to see.

“That focus, that’s what it is. It’s almost eerie sometimes, how it feels, as a coach. I’ve never had that feeling before.”

Aimee Adams and Kara Peter led the way with 12 kills apiece. Grace Molak added 10. Senior Maci Overmohle delivered a team-high 34 assists.

“There’s definitely a different feel,” Adams said. “Our chemistry is amazing, and I don’t know. It’s a weird feeling. We’re so focused. Keith actually told us this is the most focused team he’s ever had. We push the younger kids more than he does, and it’s just a good team. We’re all focused. We all want it.”

On the bracket’s other side, two schools not far from the U.S. Cellular Center both advanced. No. 2 Tipton toppled No. 7 New Hampton in four sets (25-23, 17-25, 25-23, 25-19). No. 6 Mount Vernon followed with a four-set upset over No. 3 MOC-Floyd Valley (26-24, 25-11, 25-23, 25-18).

Tipton-Mount Vernon will start alongside Kuemper Catholic-Osage.

One rout, one nail-biter for 2A's top

The top two seeds in Class 2A headlined the 2 p.m. session. Both No. 1 Beckman Catholic and No. 2 Western Christian advanced but in very different fashions.

Behind double-digit kills from Isabelle Bennett (15) and Ellie Bildstein (14) — as well as 40 assists via Sydney Steffen — Beckman Catholic (44-3) pushed past No. 8 seed Wilton in three sets (25-21, 25-13, 25-17). The win is Beckman Catholic's ninth in a row.

Western Christian didn't have it so easy.

The Wolfpack needed a furious comeback to reach an 18th consecutive semifinals, rallying past seventh-seeded Treynor in five sets (24-26, 22-25, 25-19, 25-10, 15-11). Western Christian (40-5) dropped the first two before winning the final three.

Double-figure kills from Tori Wynja (17), Macay Van't Hul (15) and Ally Postma (10) led the way. Olivia Granstra added 37 assists.

After some early turbulence in the first two sets, Western Christian leaned on its veterans and experience to avoid the upset bid. Survive and advance is the only relevant mantra, come state tournament time. The Wolfpack did just that.

More 2A chalk

The top 2A seeds from the 4 p.m. slate advanced, as well. No. 4 Unity Christian toppled No. 5 Dike-New Hartford in three sets (25-22, 25-13, 25-19), while No. 3 Sidney knocked off No. 6 Tri-Center in four sets (27-25, 25-17, 20-25, 25-16).

Unity Christian's Jori Bronner headlined the stat sheet with 20 kills, and Erin Wieringa chimed in with 20 assists. Unity Christian (31-6) will get top-seeded Beckman Catholic at 4 p.m.

Sidney (39-2), meanwhile, shook off a third-set loss and rolled in the fourth. It'll get Western Christian in Thursday's semifinals.

Dargan Southard covers Iowa and UNI athletics, recruiting and preps for the Des Moines Register, HawkCentral.com and the Iowa City Press-Citizen. Email him at msouthard@gannett.com or follow him on Twitter at @Dargan_Southard.