CRB Ends Hawkettes’ Season

LOSE IN REGIONAL FIRST ROUND, FINISH 9-15

Coon Rapids-Bayard swept East Greene in three games, 25-19, 25-16, 25-12, in first round regional volleyball action at Coon Rapids on Wednesday. CRB (23-6) advances to the quarterfinal round in Madrid where they will face the Madrid Tigers, winners over Earlham.

EG ends the 2010 season with a 9-15 record. The Hawkettes finished in eighth place in the Rolling Hills Conference with a 3-6 mark.

Only AC and ICA were winners among the 10 conference teams in regional action on Wednesday. Adair-Casey sidelined conference foe Walnut to advance to a Region 3 quarterfinal match against Riverside (Oakland) next Tuesday in Adair. Iowa Christian beat Southeast Warren Liberty Center and will take on Martensdale-St. Mary’s on Tuesday at Melcher in Region 5. Regional quarterfinal winners will advance to the semifinal round on Friday, Oct. 29.

Paton-Churdan lost on Wednesday night to Southeast Webster in Burnside in Region 2, while Jefferson-Scranton got by Ogden in Class 2A first round regional action in Ogden. The Rams (16-21) move on to face Kuemper (21-10) next Tuesday in Carroll.

In the conference tournament at Elk Horn last week, EG took on Paton-Churdan in an opening round match, beating the Rockettes to advance to a second round match against Iowa Christian Academy, the No. 2 seed in the league tourney. ICA, ranked 12th in the state in Class 1A, beat the Hawkettes 21-9, 21-18 to advance to the semifinals. The Blazers won their semifinal match but fell to Adair-Casey in the championship. In a consolation round game, EG was edged out by CAM (Anita) 21-18, 18-21, 15-11.

FINAL CONFERENCE STANDINGS
(Conf. Record, Season Record Through 10-20-10)
Iowa Christian 9-0 18-8
Adair-Casey 8-1 23-6
Ankeny Christian 5-4 12-12
CAM (Anita) 5-4 9-15
Orient-Macksburg 5-4 8-17
Glidden-Ralston 4-5 10-15
Elk Horn Kimballton/Exira 4-5 6-17
East Greene 3-6 9-15
Paton-Churdan 1-8 2-30
Walnut 1-8 8-23

EYE GJ SAYS: It was an up and down season for the Hawkettes this year. After a strong start with a season-opening win over Southeast Webster-Grand and a good showing at an invitational tournament in Coon Rapids—and starting out 2-1 in the Rolling Hills—in looked like the Hawkettes could compete for an upper division finish in their first year in the RH. But key losses to teams like Orient-Macksburg and Ankeny Christian resulted in EG falling into the lower half of the conference which was dominated all season by Adair-Casey and Iowa Christian. EG did put some together some solid performances during the season, beating former league rival Guthrie Center, last year’s West Central Conference champion, and they pulled out some close matches which showed they could play well under pressure. After EG beat Guthrie, the Tigerettes turned around and upset Adair-Casey, but both EG and GC suffered from inconsistency throughout the season.

The West Central Conference fared much better in opening round regional action than the RH with the 9 teams posting a 6-3 mark. And two of those three losses were to other WC teams. Guthrie got by CAM (Anita), a Rolling Hills team, and will next face East Union (27-7). Madrid beat league foe Earlham to also advance in Class 1A. Woodward-Granger and Des Moines Christian, which has been ranked for part of the season, advanced in 2A as did Van Meter, which beat fellow conference member West Central Valley. The only 2A team to lose to a non-league for was Panorama.

The West Central will became a 10-team league again next year, as Ogden will leave the Heart of Iowa-Small after this season and fill the vacancy created by East Greene’s move to the Rolling Hills.

Five East Greene seniors played their last match in the regional loss: Katlynn Gannon, Molly Neese, Tia Lowe, Brittanee Heaning and Jasmine Kinney. Several younger players made significant contributions to the team this year, especially Chelsi Wilkens, who had a big impact on the front line as just a freshman starter, leading the team in blocks. Wilkens and sophomore reserves Tori Lowe and Brittany Gunn will serve as the nucleus for the varsity next year.

There were no juniors on the squad, so Coach Carly Tiffany will be fielding a young team next year in a somewhat of a rebuilding phase. EG also has a strong group of 8th graders moving up to the high school level for next year’s team—including Tiffany’s daughter Bailey Godwin— who could step in and play key roles. The team that takes the court next fall will essentially be in place for back-to-back seasons, so this year’s sophomores will be called upon to show leadership for the younger team members.