The #10 (2A) Aplington-Parkersburg volleyball team went 1-1 at the Gladbrook-Reinbeck pod of the NICL Tournament Tuesday, and was denied a third straight trip to the final four.
The Falcons opened with a 2-1 win over #8 (2A) Sumner-Fredericksburg, but fell 2-1 to #8 (1A) Gladbrook-Reinbeck in the quarterfinal. After dropping the first set, Head Coach Candace Kleespies says the win over the Cougars was crucial.
“Summer-Fred was a big one for many different reasons,” Kleespies says. “We talked a lot about the changes that we needed to make. The first time around that we played them, we had a lot of self errors that really kind of killed us that put us into three. And tonight I felt like the errors against Summer-Fred were more of an aggressive error instead of just errors. So I was proud of how they played. That was a good quality win.”
Kleespies says the match against the Rebels got away from them in set 3.
“The first one, we did not make the changes that we talked about in practice and that needed to happen. And so the second set, they came out and did that and then that was your difference in that second set. And in the third set we passed the ball great, we just didn’t finish.”
In Grundy Center, #2 (1A) Dike-New Hartford advanced to the final four with 2-0 wins over #15 (2A) Jesup and the #4 (2A) Spartans. Grundy Center also swept Columbus Catholic.
In Denver, AGWSR opened with a 2-0 loss to #9 (2A) Wapsie Valley, then fell 2-0 to East Marshall.
In La Porte City, South Hardin upset #13 (2A) Hudson 2-1, then fell to #5 (2A) Union 2-0.
Union will host the championship pod. Dike-New Hartford will take on the Knights, and Denver will face Gladbrook-Reinbeck in the semifinals. DNH’s matches will air on RadioOnTheGo’s YouTube channel. The consolation pods will be hosted by Grundy Center, Jesup and Columbus Catholic.
