BCLUW sweeps Holy Trinity in State Tournament opener

CORALVILLE – BCLUW capitalized on Holy Trinity Catholic’s offensive struggles on its way to a three-set victory in the first round of the Class 1A State Volleyball Tournament Tuesday at the Xtreme Arena in Coralville.

The sixth-seeded Comets (31-10) will face No. 7 seed Janesville in the State Tournament semifinals Wednesday at 6:25 p.m. Janseville upset No. 2 seeded Saint Ansgar in its first-round match.

Holy Trinity had 22 attack errors in the match and had a .076 efficiency, well below its .208 season average.

While Holy Trinity struggled, the Comets excelled. They totaled 44 kills in the match and hit .225, in line with its .253 season efficiency. Grace Farnsworth led the Comets with 15 kills in the match while Olivia Peters had 13 and Virigian Kaisand seven. Cassie Nason had 34 assists while Farnsworth had 17 digs and Klayre Gallentine 16.

The Comets started slowly in the first set, falling behind 9-4 before battling back on a Nason kill and a pair of Holy Trinity errors. The Comets took an 11-10 lead on a Gallentine kill and extended their lead to 15-11 on a Farnsworth kill. Holy Trinity rallied to tie the set on an ace, leading to a BCLUW timeout. The teams traded sideouts until the Crusaders used a three-point run to take a 22-19 lead. BCLUW battled back, tying the score on a Sarah Gerber kill, leading to a Holy Trinity timeout. A Gallentine ace gave the Comets a 23-22 lead and back-to-back Crusader errors gave them the victory.

The Comets carried the momentum of their first-set victory into the early stages of set two, scoring the first six points on a pair of kills and four Holy Trinity errors, forcing the Crusaders to call an early timeout. The Comets continued to dominate, extending their lead to 15-7 on a Peters kill. The lead reached eight points, 18-8, on a Goldei Kaisand kill and the Crusaders could not cut into that, with the Comets taking the 25-16 win on another Holy Trinity error.

Holy Trinity took an early 3-1 lead in the third set and hung tight with the Comets in the early going. BCLUW tied the score 6-6 before three straight Crusader kills gave them a 9-6 lead. The Comets pulled within a point on kills by Gallentine and Kaisand and tied the score 9-9 on a Gallentine ace. The teams traded sideouts until the Comets took their first lead of the set, 12-11, on a Farnsworth kill. The Comet lead reached 14-11, prompting a Holy Trinity timeout. The Crusaders pulled to within a point, 14-13, following the timeout, though they could not get over the hump. BCLUW maintained a lead of between tow and three points as the teams traded sideouts. A Farnsworth kill gave BCLUW a 19-16 lead. Two more Holy Trinity attack errors gave the Comets set point and Kaisnd clinched the victory with a kill.

A complete recount and additional photos from BCLUW’s State Volleyball Tournament match against Holy Trinity will be printed in the Nov. 14 Grundy Register