First, they took down Davenport West. Up next was an Iowa high school volleyball powerhouse, Bettendorf. A trip to the U.S. Cellular Center for the State tournament was on the line.

“Heading into the game we knew it was going to be a challenge.  But playing them multiple times earlier in the season we saw that we were able to play with them.  I was excited for another chance, maybe coming out on top this time,” said Outside Hitter Ellie Evans ‘19 said.

In order to give a team with only five losses a run for their money, the young Little Hawk squad experimented with new plays while simultaneously concentrating on the fundamentals.

“We focused a lot on the little things like technique while passing and running some different plays than we usually do,” Kelsey Law ‘20 said.

Additionally, the team focused on how to decrease the damage players like Ally Grothusen, Caroline Baer, and Emma Ostrom are capable of causing.

“Bettendorf has several really strong players.  We knew we had to defend their middles and outside hitters and try to keep them out of system to avoid those players.”

In a packed gymnasium on the night of the match, Bettendorf didn’t hesitate and came out right off the bat playing like the experienced team they are, winning the first set 25-12.

“I think in the beginning we came out with a lot of jitters.  We were making more mistakes than usual which put us in a really bad situation,” Evans said.  “We were trying to make plays that weren’t in our comfort zone and we weren’t communicating as well as we could’ve.

The Little Hawks bounced back and made the second set the closest of the night.

“We each had strong moments and times when things were just off.  Unfortunately, our errors probably cost us a few sets,” Law said. “Bettendorf was able to capitalize on our errors and even when we had strong attacks, their defense was excellent.  They rarely let the ball drop.”

Unable to recover from the deficit, the Little Hawks lost to Bettendorf in three sets, ending their run for the State tournament.

“For me, and the team as well, I knew that to stay in the game we had to do all our jobs as well as we could,” Evans said. “We had to be able to keep consistent for all sets of the match, which we just weren’t quite able to do.”

Although the match didn’t go how they wanted it to, the team plans to use this loss as motivation for the future.

“We saw that we are able to compete with teams like Bett so I think that’ll be a motivator,” Evans said. “Knowing that all the same players will be back on the court next year is key because now we can keep building on what we had last season instead of having to start from scratch.”