VOLLEYBALL: ON TO THE NEXT ONE

AtLANTIC – Led by a 94 percent serve efficiency and 14 aces, the Greene County volleyball team swept their first round regional match, a 3-0 win over Atlantic Wednesday, Oct. 19. 

The Rams captured the first set of the 3A region one matchup 25-13 then took the second, 25-15 before cruising to a 15-point win (25-10) in the third set for the match victory. 

Megan Durbin paced Greene County with 13 kills and six digs. As a team, the Rams tallied 33 kills and 31 digs. Junior Hannah Stein contributed nine kills and a sterling 11-for-11 night at the service line. Senior Hannah Promes played a huge role in setting up the Ram offense, successfully connecting on all 18 of her serves and four aces. She also had seven digs while tallying 32 assists. Nadia fisher served up 18 successful serves as well and a team-leading five aces to go with seven kills and seven digs. As a team, the Rams were 73 of 77 from the service line, including senior Emily Heupel’s 10-for-10 performance. Wednesday’s win was just Greene County’s third in its last 10 games, but came in a win-or-go-home contest. 

The Rams now face fourth-ranked Kuemper Catholic (26-1) Tuesday, Oct. 25 in Carroll. The Knights easily swept Southeast Valley in round one, allowing just 25 points in the three set win (25-8, 25-8, and 25-9).

Kuemper, who spent a majority of the season ranked number one, is led by Aimee Adams, who sent home 14 kills Wednesday night. For the year, the sophomore has contributed 287 kills, fifth in the Hawkeye Ten Conference. The Knights captured the conference title with a perfect 10-0 record. The Knights made a run to the state tournament in Cedar Rapids a year ago and have their eyes set on returning once more. They enter Tuesday’s match riding a seven game win streak. 

Kuemper’s only loss was to Class 1A No. 1 Janesville, 2-0 in a weekend tournament two weeks ago. The Knights lay claim to wins over Class 4A ranked squads such as Bishop Heelan (No. 4), Lewis Central (No. 7) and Le Mars (No. 15). They’ve also topped 15th-ranked Red Oak, who sits on the bottom half of the bracket. 

Tuesday’s winner will play the victor of Red Oak (29-9) and Clarinda (20-11) Monday, Oct. 31 in Cherokee.