PHOTO BY ROSS THEDE

MARSHALLTOWN – The BCLUW volleyball team returned too many pieces of last year’s squad to accept anything less than a return trip to the state tournament.

After a grueling four-set victory over neighboring Gladbrook-Reinbeck last Wednesday, Oct. 30, the Comets are going back.

Sixth-ranked BCLUW (31-10) backed up last year’s maiden voyage with this season’s return trip, earning a spot in the Class 1A state volleyball tournament with a 3-1 triumph over the Rebels inside the Roundhouse at Marshalltown High School.

The Comets overcame a slow start and their opportunistic opponent, outlasting Gladbrook-Reinbeck for a 17-25, 25-17, 25-7, 25-21 victory in the Region 5 finals.

BCLUW will be the No. 6 seed at state next week at Xtream Arena in Coralville, where they will face No. 3 Holy Trinity Catholic on Tuesday, Nov. 5, at 8:25 p.m. The top eight teams in 1A all advanced to state, including BCLUW’s Iowa Star Conference rivals in No. 5 North Tama, No. 7 Janesville and No. 8 Don Bosco.

But after one set on Wednesday night, it didn’t seem like BCLUW’s night.

“I just think we came out a little slow and I don’t know if we were just too comfortable or too nervous, but G-R came out and everything went right for them and they played an absolutely great first game,” said BCLUW head coach Megan Yantis. “I had told the girls it was going to be a tough night, so talking to them after that first set we were prepared for a long night. We said ‘let’s go for it’ and let’s see how we can turn it around, and I was so proud of the way these girls reacted to that. They came back, they were composed, you couldn’t tell they were nervous at all after that first set and they just did an incredible job and I’m so very proud of them.”

Gladbrook-Reinbeck (22-21) couldn’t maintain the fiery start it made, playing what head coach Paula Kelley said was her team’s best set of the entire season. The Rebels couldn’t get off the roller coaster they rode in on, however, and the incredible high was followed by a tremendous low.

“We knew it was going to be a battle and it was going to come down to who made the least amount of mistakes and who did the little things right,” said Kelley. “In set one it was us. Sets two and three it was them, and set four was back-and-forth, could have gone either way.”

BCLUW jumped out to a 10-2 lead in the second set thanks to an 8-0 run and steadily pulled away for the win to draw even in the match, and a similarly disastrous start to the third set put the Rebels on their heels. The Comets led 8-2 and eventually stretched their advantage to 18-5. Gladbrook-Reinbeck broke up the streak before a five-point surge followed for the Comets, served up by senior defensively specialist Raegan Crawford.

With its back against the wall, G-R snapped out of its funk in the fourth set despite falling behind 7-2. The Rebels rattled off seven straight to take a 9-7, highlighted by a pair of kills for junior middle hitter Kennedy Brant and back-to-back aces for senior Mallory Wrage.

A back-and-forth battle ensued, putting on display the type of volleyball both teams had hoped to play in the regional final. Junior outside hitter Grace Farnsworth scored three Comet points in a row before G-R senior outside hitter Jaden Hansen ended the streak with a kill to cap a momentous rally, tying the score at 19-all.

Still tied at 20, the Comets finally made their finishing move. Virginia Kaisand dropped a kill over the G-R block and Olivia Peters made a successful swing, forcing a Rebel timeout. Elly Sieh got G-R back within one, 22-21, with a strong kill, but BCLUW finished off the match with three straight points to earn a return to state.

“After the first set it was a take-a-deep-breath moment, it was everybody’s nerves getting in the way,” said BCLUW senior setter Cassie Nason. “We’ve beat them before and I just had a gut feeling in my stomach that I wasn’t done with volleyball. Our crowd is here to see us win so we’re going to bring it.”

Nason finished with 35 assists at the center of BCLUW’s balanced attack. Farnsworth finished with 19 kills and Peters put down 13 more. Virginia Kaisand added five kills, Goldie Kaisand had three, and Sarah Garber chipped in one.

Goldie Kaisand came away with four blocks against G-R’s potent attack, and Nason made 19 digs to pace the defense. Gallentine had 16, Crawford had 12, and Peters added 10.

The Comets also werved 86-for-88 with nine aces, with Virginia Kaisand going 25-for-25 with two aces to lead the way.

“We lost our coach and we lost a lot of seniors, but we had to prove a point,” Nason said. “Our motto this year is ‘more determined than ever’ and I think it fits so well because we are more motivated than ever. We want to prove we are a fantastic volleyball team and we want to prove we can do it.”

BCLUW’s state debut last year came under head coach Abby Stephenson, who left to coach her alma mater at Nevada. Stephenson was in the crowd for Wednesday’s Comet victory in their first year under Yantis.

Gladbrook-Reinbeck was led by Brant with 15 kills, and Sieh scored 10 more. Braelynn Morgan totaled six kills while Lily Dripps and Hansen had four apiece. Jada Cheville chipped in two kills, and sophomore setter Kailey Larsen totaled 33 assists.

Dylan Mathern led the G-R defense with 19 digs while Sieh had 15 and Brant 10. Sieh also was a part of seven blocks. Wrage served 12-for-13 with two aces and Hansen was 12-for-13 with one ace.

The Rebels were seeking their fifth trip to state since 2018 under Kelley.

“I really felt good coming into this and especially when we started off hot like we did, I really felt like the kids had it, but we just couldn’t sustain throughout,” Kelley said.