Tigers headed to state for second straight year

It will be back-to-back trips to Cedar Rapids for the Red Oak volleyball team.

Red Oak reached the state tournament for the second year in a row and third time in the last four years when they defeated Albia last Tuesday at Creston High School in the regional final 3-0.

“Each team that makes it this far, everyone is a little bit different and everyone is special in their own way. This group from last year, it was their first time,” Red Oak volleyball coach Angela Montgomery said. “This group is so focused on what they need to do, not only just to get to state, but we’re going to be preparing just as hard to get a win when we get there.”

The Tigers cruised to big leads in all three games, last Tuesday setting the tone for the final. Red Oak won game one 25-10.

“We were rolling, we were doing the things we wanted to do. You can’t get out there and simulate what the emotion is going to be on the other side of the court,” Montgomery said. “I think our girls were absolutely focused this whole season getting to this point and they weren’t going to let it slow them down.”

Albia started the first game by jumping out to a 3-1 lead. That lead didn’t last long though as Red Oak rallied to take it over. Red Oak stayed aggressive in the game and kept Albia from scoring.

“I think our serves were great tonight,” Red Oak setter Makelti White said. “Everyone served very aggressive and kept the ball away from the passers.”

The Tigers used the game one win as momentum to jump out to a 6-0 lead in game two. Albia never got close to the lead in game two as Red Oak won 25-11 and was a game away from the state tournament.

With their backs against the wall, Albia stayed close early, within three or four points of the Tigers.

“The third game, we have so much experience,” Red Oak hitter Kate Walker said. “We could do it, we had to win the third game to take care of them.”

At 13-9, Red Oak scored four straight points, including two Walker aces, to lead 17-9. The Tigers stayed ahead and used the final few points to play some of their bench.

“Our bench is extremely deep and they proved that when they were out there on those last couple of points,” Montgomery said.

The Tigers won the game 25-15 and the celebration began in the gymnasium.

Walker led the way with 10 kills out of 18 attack attempts for Red Oak. The junior outside hitter also had six digs, one block assist and was 11-for-12 serving with three aces.

With the win in Creston, it’s a familiar site to players like Walker, as well as Grace Blomstedt, Blake Bergren, Sabrina Guerra, Madison Gilbert, White, Angela Mahoney, Micayla Tayor, Megan Sands and Brooke Janssen.

Creston is the site where Red Oak clinched a berth to the state girls basketball tournament, in February.

“This gym is kind of on our side, it’s kind of like our home gym, so we knew we could pull it off here,” Walker said.

Blomstedt finished the regional final with nine kills, as well as four digs and two block assists.  Mahoney meanwhile had six kills and three digs with an ace.

Sands finished with four kills in the match, while Bergren and Janssen each had two.

Sands, a freshman, has stepped in to play the last couple of weeks for Red Oak during key points, including the comeback win in the last regular season match against Creston.

“When I got out there, I was freaking out and then I remembered against Creston a couple weeks ago, they welcomed me nicely and they were encouraging me, it was great,” she said.

This season, Sands has 13 kills in 15 sets.

“It was nice, awesome to hit out of my position and do what coach wants me to do and making her proud makes me happy,” Sands said.

Red Oak had a total of 14 aces in the match on 64-for-70 serves. Courtney Billings had the most aces with five; she was 10-for-13 on her serves.

Billings, as well as White combined to record 29 of the team’s 37 assists. White led with 15, while Billings had 14.

White is the only Red Oak player who was part of the 2010 state tournament team.

“I think freshman year, I was not a starter, I didn’t play very much,” White said. “Right now, I have a lot more to contribute.”

White said it feels good to be going to state and that going as a senior means a lot.

“These are like my best friends on the team,” she said. “It means a lot, we’re all going on a trip to Cedar Rapids.”

State match-up

Red Oak will face a familiar foe in the quarterfinals Wednesday in fellow Hawkeye 10 School Kuemper Catholic.

“We need to condition, because any match at state is going to be tough,” Walker said.

The two teams opened the 2013 season Sept. 5 with a match-up. Kuemper got the better of the match, winning 3-1 in Carroll.

The Knights cruised through regionals, defeating Atlantic, Greene County and North Polk, not dropping a game along the way.

Kuemper is 25-4 this season and finished third in the Hawkeye 10 standings with an 8-2 record.

The Knights have several senior stars, including hitter Claire Ludwig and setter Morgan Naberhaus. In the Sept. 5 match versus Red Oak, Ludwig had 14 kills, while Naberhaus had 35 assists.

Red Oak has lost the last two meetings against Kuemper Catholic. The last win for Red Oak against the Knights was 2011 when they won 3-2 in Carroll.

The match is scheduled to start at 10 a.m. at the US Cellular Center in Cedar Rapids.

The other 3A quarterfinal matches will feature Mount Vernon versus Sheldon, Union against Nevada and Independence against MOC-Floyd Valley.

Should Red Oak win, they will play Thursday afternoon at 2 p.m. against the winner of Mount Vernon and Sheldon. The championship match will be 2 p.m. Friday.

State History

This will be Red Oak’s 12th state volleyball tournament appearance in the last 20 years. They made their first appearance in 1995 under former Red Oak and current Harlan head coach Angie Spangenberg.

The best Red Oak finish was second, which they did twice during the 1990s.

Last season, Red Oak faced MOC-Floyd Valley in the quarterfinals, losing 3-1 to the eventual state champions.

In 2010, Red Oak lost in the quarterfinals to Mount Vernon, the eventual state champions, 3-0.

In 2007, Red Oak competed in Class 2A at the state tournament, losing to Pella Christian in the quarterfinals, 3-0.

Red Oak’s last win in the quarterfinals came in 2005 when they defeated Waterloo Columbus in five games. They would lose in the semifinals to Western Christian 3-2.

Additional notes

Tickets are available at the Red Oak High School activities office until 2 p.m. Tuesday. The price of admission is $8 per person.

A student pep bus is planned for Wednesday morning. The bus is expected to leave at 5 a.m. There will be a pep bus available for students, should Red Oak advance to the semifinal and championship rounds.

A pep rally was held Monday afternoon for the team. After the pep rally, the team had a practice and will have another Tuesday morning before leaving for Cedar Rapids.