After taking first place at the Independence High School Triangular, winning 2-1 over Independence and 2-0 over Vinton-Shellsburg on Tuesday, Aug. 29, the Mid-Prairie Golden Hawks traveled to West Branch for a best-of-five showdown against the Bears.

And it was a carousel of emotion.

The Hawks lost 3-2, winning the first set 25-19, losing set two 25-20, winning set three 25-15, and losing the final two sets 28-26 and 15-13.

The Hawks were constantly playing from behind.

The first set played out this way. West Branch jumped out to an early 7-1 lead: the early game jitters in full effect. On the eighth serve, Mid-Prairie played more competitive and confident, finding their rhythm and clawing back into it.

The Hawks eventually tied it at 17 before taking their first lead, 18-17. By this point, momentum shifted.

Mid-Prairie would outscore West Branch 6-2 to close out the set, highlighted by a serve by junior Dakota Mitchell that looked like it was veering out of bounds, only to hit the line, scoring a point for the Hawks.

“I just told the girls, we need to stop playing to lose, but start playing to win,” head coach Sherry Evans said about the big comeback in set one. “When we play like that, we’re more aggressive and we do better.”

Set two was more of the same. The teams scored back-to-back until the score was 12-11 in favor of the Bears.

Then, West Branch took control, holding a steady five-point lead until the score reached 24-19. Mid-Prairie got within four points on a ball that barely stayed in bounds, needing the initial call to be overturned by the officials in order to count for the Hawks.

The Bear frustration was short lived as sophomore Jovi Evans over-served the ensuing serve to end the set.

Set three was completely controlled by the Golden Hawks. They held a two, three-, five-, seven- and ten-point lead throughout the set.

Set four was a battle. Mid-Prairie, down 21-14, went on a seven-point streak. After this point, each team scored back-to-back, until the score was tied at 26. West Branch finally closed the set with two points, winning 28-26.

It seemed that whoever won the wild set four would likely hold momentum until the end. That was the case.

In set five, the teams remained within two points for the entirety of the set until the Bears got the walk off point, winning 15-13.

“[West Branch is] scrappy. We didn’t do a very good job of blocking, that’s one of our weak points,” Evans said about what made West Branch a tough opponent. “That’s one big thing we need to get better at, and [West Branch] did block us well [so] we are going to work on blocking.”

Mid-Prairie will take on West Liberty on Sept. 7 at 7:15 p.m. at home. Then, the Hawks will travel to Iowa City for the Iowa City West Tournament  at 9 a.m. Saturday, Sept. 9.

Game stats

M-P -- 25    20    25    26    13

W B -- 19    25    15    28    15