For the second time in the last three seasons, Grundy Center volleyball will compete at the state tournament this week at the Xtream Arena in Coralville.
That one-year gap between state trips was a motivating factor in the Spartans’ journey this fall, and the five seniors on the roster played their role in making sure Grundy Center came back swinging, punching their ticket to the 2A state tournament where the Spartans take on Dyersville Beckman in a 2A quarterfinal at 4 p.m. on Tuesday.
“There’s nothing really comparable to the environment,” said Spartan senior Allison Koch, the only returning starter from the 2023 squad that reached the state semifinals. “I think it’s super exciting that we’re back down there, I had so much fun my sophomore year.”
Tuesday’s matchup is a battle between the 4th-seeded Spartans and 5th-seeded Trailblazers. Beckman returns to state after finishing as state semifinalists last year, bowing out to Eddyville-Blakesburg-Fremont.
“I feel like we’re very even, when it comes to what both teams bring to the table,” Grundy Center head coach Lori Willis said. “I think Beckman may come in a little more confident with that past experience at state, where we could play spoiler to that even as a higher seed. … It’s great that it’s kind of fresh with this group of girls, they don’t know what to expect and they can just go out there and play.”
Last year’s squad had big shoes to fill with five seniors that started all 46 games for the Spartans in their march to 2A’s final four, but Grundy Center seemed poised to reload with a dynamic set of underclassmen led by 6-foot-7 sophomore Ryanne Brubaker.
However, it was one of the Spartans’ NICL West rivals, South Hardin, that would take down Grundy Center in a four-set regional final loss.
“That was a hard pill to swallow,” Lauren Zajac said.
Willis admits that the added motivation may have lifted the Spartans that little extra to be a top-4 team in 2A this year, and still able to hang with the fellow giants of the North Iowa Cedar League; five NICL teams are playing this week in the 2A bracket alone.
“This season, Lauren would every now and then bring up that South Hardin score, and the girls would know ‘OK, time to lock in,’” Willis said. “It made the girls really hungry to get back there.”
The Spartans won their first 10 games in a row and were 15-2 by mid-September, with their only losses at that point to defending 2A champions Denver.
Along the way, senior Lydia Hook was a big contributor in being the next one up off the bench when injuries hobbled the Spartans in key positions, including stints as an outside hitter and libero.
“I feel like my position has always been switching since freshman year,” Hook said, laughing. “I’m just always ready to go, I know my coaches believe in me, my team believes in me, and I can just go out there and try my best and know I can succeed.”
The NICL tournament bracket pitted the Spartans against Dike-New Hartford in the quarterfinals, and the Wolverines knocked out the Spartans, who eventually settled for fifth in the tournament.
The second half of the schedule didn’t always break Grundy’s way as the strength of schedule increased in difficulty, but the Spartans kept it moving.
“I think we’ve improved the most with our mindset,” senior Erin Richtsmeier said. “Our mental toughness has gotten a lot better throughout the season, we’re not as hard on ourselves to the point where we’re bringing ourselves down, and we just always push through any obstacle.”
One of the shining examples of that perseverance was a battle with Wapsie Valley on the Spartans’ senior night on Oct. 14.
Down 21-10 at one point in the second set, the Spartans roared back for a 26-24 win over the Warriors, part of a competitive sweep over a team that also went on to qualify for state in 2A.
“It was like ‘Wow, we can come back from that deficit, and still be good teammates and build ourselves back up from that,’” Zajac said. “That was a turning point for us.”
After breezing through the first two regional tournament games, the Spartans had to be resilient again in the regional final against Woodward-Granger, as the Hawks took the first set from the Spartans, 27-25, in contentious fashion.
“It was definitely nerve-wracking after losing that first one,” Grundy senior Veda Aldrich said. “I didn’t know what to expect for the next three, but I think we took some motivation in having some calls that didn’t go our way and used that for the next three sets.”
Willis added: “They were mad, I was mad, Landry [Luhring, assistant coach] was mad. So we just challenged the girls to make it about them, take everything else out of it, go out there, and kick some booty. They drew a line in the sand.”
Behind a perfect 32-of-32 serving from Jenna Blythe, Ryanne Brubaker and Charlee Kirkpatrick combining for 33 kills and the Spartans teaming up for 14 total blocks, Grundy shut down Woodward-Granger the rest of the way.
Willis sees serving as a potential tipping point in Tuesday’s match.
“I’d like to see us get really aggressive with our serving,” Willis added. “They’re a good serving team, too, so if we can put some pressure on them, and then also get our passes well enough where we can use our middles, that can tip the scale in our favor. But we need ball control to do that.”
Even for those that were on the 2023 state-qualifying team, this week holds new experiences for all involved.
“I was just a little sophomore, I probably didn’t take it in as much as I should have,” Hook said. “I’m excited to experience it again, be able to be on the court down there with everybody and watch everybody I love.”
Zajac added: “We just have to come out strong knowing that we can do this, just keep moving in the right direction and keep supporting each other will help us for sure. I don’t think any of us want our seasons to end on Tuesday.”
JAKE RYDER SPORTS 