Cowgirls headed back to state volleyball for third time

This time, the glass slipper fit. And the pumpkin turned into a coach, which is whisking away the Cowgirl volleyball team to the state tournament next week in Cedar Rapids. Armed with a potent offensive attack, the team kept fighting and eventually turned back a strong challenge from the Union Knights to win a 3-1 match. Set scores were 25-19, 25-16, 25-17 and 25-22. They appeared at state in 1994 and 1998, with two more recent regional final trips in 2000 and 2016.

With Jadyn Jondle serving in set one, a four-hit call on the Knights gave the Cowgirls a 19-15 lead. Union then made a kill, with the red and black returning the next ball just inside the line for a 20-16 margin. A net call gave Union the next point, followed by a serve out for the Cowgirl point. Another officials call gave C-G-D a 22-17 lead, forcing the Knights to call a timeout to stop their momentum. With Haley Nerem serving, another call at the net gave the Cowgirls a 23-17 advantage. A Union kill dropped in for their 18th point, only to be countered by a Morgan Middleton smash to set up game point. Following another Union point, the Knights couldn’t find the handle on the next serve and the Cowgirls were up 1-0 in the match.

For the full story and many more photos, see the Nov. 1st edition of the Monitor