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Cassidy the Complete: Hartman has done it all for Iowa City Liberty, and has done it all very well
State volleyball: Lightning will make one more push for a championship this week
Jeff Linder
Oct. 30, 2022 8:00 am, Updated: Oct. 31, 2022 10:49 am
NORTH LIBERTY — Her toolbox runneth over.
Here’s all you need to know about Cassidy Hartman’s expansive volleyball game:
“When she came into our program, I wanted her to be a setter,” Iowa City Liberty Coach Allie Kelly said. “Her hands were phenomenal.”
She can set, in a pinch. Heaven knows she can hit, from any angle and any spot on the court. She would be a more-than-adequate libero.
Imagine that, a 6-foot libero.
“I’ve done it, just for fun, at the club level,” Hartman said.
Hartman’s greatest strength, during a memorable four years at Liberty, is this:
She has no weakness. Her game has no holes to it.
None.
“If I’m struggling with a skill, I have something else I can go to, to regain confidence,” she said Wednesday, a day after the Lightning nailed down their fourth consecutive state-tournament appearance. “If I’m struggling with my hitting, I can go to the back row and work on my passing.
“That makes all of my skills better.”
Though still a young coach, Kelly has been around the volleyball block for a while. As Allie Hutcheson, she was a dual-threat setter for Cedar Rapids Kennedy.
Kelly views Hartman as “the most complete player I’ve seen.
“She hits the ball hard, yes, but her blocking is fantastic. Her serving is aggressive. Her passing is usually spot-on. You can’t target her in the back row.”
Liberty opened its doors in the fall of 2017. Hartman was a seventh-grader then, and Kelly — then an assistant under Randy Dolson — was aware of who was coming.
“We heard about Cassidy and Shelby (Kimm) around the time they were 10 or 12,” Kelly said.
Hartman and Kimm played club ball for Kimm’s mother Kara Kimm (formerly Kara Galer) “at about 10U or 12U, but we were couple of years younger than everybody else,” Hartman said.
Liberty was 13-20 in its first year, 19-15 in its second.
Then, Hartman and Kimm arrived and everything changed.
The Lightning went 34-3 in 2019, 24-3 in the COVID-affected 2020, 34-5 last year.
The postseason high-water mark, so far, was a runner-up finish in 2020.
Liberty was ranked No. 1 last year and dropped a five-set first-round heartbreaker to 8-seed Johnston.
“Instead of playing calm, a lot of emotions came in,” Hartman said. “We got a little frantic. We weren’t playing our normal game.”
The Bolts could have gotten frantic after a somewhat-pedestrian 10-5 start this fall.
“We experimented a lot with a lot of different kids,” Kelly said. “Even when things were going like we thought they should, the vibe on the court was composed.”
Hartman said, “The good competition we saw early, it really taught us what we need to work on. If we worked on the little things, we’d be able to get through it.”
Liberty has won 14 of its last 15 matches. The Lightning (30-8) — ranked No. 1 again — will face No. 11 Urbandale (16-19) in a Class 5A first-round match at noon Monday at Xtream Arena in Coralville.
Hartman has led the team in kills, four straight years. Her kill efficiency through the four years has been remarkably consistent (.349 as a freshman, then .360, .351 and now .363).
She has accumulated 1,473 kills and 1,290 digs throughout her career.
The owner of a 4.1 grade point average, Hartman has committed to the University of Northern Iowa and has her eye on a pre-med field.
Before she departs, she wants to fill the only void in her high school career, a state championship.
“That would be special, really cool,” she said. “I feel like it really could happen.”
Whether it does or not, Kelly said, “I hope Cassidy knows how much she has contributed to Liberty High School. Her legacy will stick around her for a long, long time.
“A lot of kids are watching her and want to be the next in line.”
Comments: jeff.linder@thegazette.com