Golden Hawks to host Fairfield in volleyball tourney opener

WELLMAN

The road to a third consecutive Iowa 3A regional championship and state tournament berth begins Tuesday on Mid-Prairie’s home court.

The road will get rocky after that.

The Golden Hawks (19-14) were placed in a regional bracket that includes two teams ranked among the state’s top 10: No. 6 Center Point-Urbana (22-11) and No. 10 Roland-Story (33-9).

Tuesday, Mid-Prairie hosts Fairfield (9-22) at 7 p.m.

“We’ve got a good matchup,” co-head coach Sherry Evans said.

If the Golden Hawks win Tuesday, they’ll likely play Thursday at Center Point-Urbana. The Stormin Pointers host Vinton-Shellsburg (3-30) on Tuesday.

The Golden Hawks made the championship night of the River Valley Conference Tournament last week, winning two of three matches in the preliminary pool round. Mid-Prairie pushed 2A third-ranked Beckman Catholic to a third set last Thursday in the quarterfinals at Wilton, a match that co-coach Zeb Evans said prepared the team for this week’s regional tournament.

“We played really well,” Zeb Evans said. “That’s the level we needed to have. It’s all about preparation right now.”

A win Tuesday would give the Golden Hawks a fifth straight 20-win season.

After losing 22-20, 16-21, 14-16 to Beckman, Mid-Prairie defeated Bellevue in the consolation round by scores of 19-21, 21-11, 15-12.

Mid-Prairie junior Jeorgia Evans, an Iowa State recruit, had a match-high 13 kills against Beckman Catholic, including a kill in the third set that gave the Golden Hawks a 14-12 lead. Beckman scored the next four points for a dramatic win.

Elise Foster had a team-high 16 digs and Evans had 14, and Claire Trimpe and Lydia Witthoft each had 8 assists.

Evans and Tessa Bombei combined for 24 kills in the win over Bellevue, and Witthoft had 13 assists. Foster had a match-high 14 digs.

After losing the first set by two points, the Golden Hawks scored 7 of the first 10 points in the second set and 4 of the first 5 points in the deciding third set.

3A ninth-ranked Wilton won the conference championship, defeating 2A No. 9 Regina Catholic in the title match, 25-22, 25-12.