Cougars flip the switch, then the script, upsetting North Tama

CORALVILLE – AGWSR volleyball flipped the switch on Tuesday night - and it was lights out for the opposition.

The Cougars put together a pair of improbable scoring runs against North Tama to upend the second-seeded Redhawks in five sets at the Xtream Arena in Coralville in a Class 1A state quarterfinal.

AGWSR (19-23) won 25-21, 11-25, 25-27, 25-14, 15-13. The Cougars will play an NICL West semifinal against Gladbrook-Reinbeck at 6 p.m. on Wednesday back in Coralville.

The night ended in shocking fashion, as the Cougars, two points away from elimination at a 13-6 deficit, claimed the next nine rally points consecutively to stun the Redhawks.

Tessa Sperfslage sealed her impeccable run at the service line with a match-winning ace.

“She was a rock star,” AGWSR head coach Jill Smith said. “She hit those zones right where we needed to, and they were having trouble getting into their offense.”

Brynn Smith slammed 28 kills, many coming off sets from younger sister Trevyn Smith, who finished with 43 assists, and the sisters ensured they would get a chance to keep playing under their mother, Jill.

“I feel like everyone looked at our record and thought they could beat us,” Brynn Smith said. “But if you dig a little deeper, we play tough teams every weekend. And it’s to prepare us for moments like this when we can come back.”

AGWSR claimed the first set, only for North Tama (39-5) to hammer back in the next two sets, dominating the second set and sneaking out a third-set win that put the Cougars on the ropes.

“We didn’t want to end our season playing poorly,” Trevyn Smith said. “We wanted to go out on a high note so we said, right now, we just have to go. We really have nothing to lose. It’s something we’ve been talking about all season - flipping the switch.”

In the state tournament for the first time since finishing as runners-up in 2008 and with a large community contingent at their backs, AGWSR rebounded from an early 4-1 deficit in set four with a massive 14-0 run, including two ace serves from Trevyn Smith.

“The biggest thing that changes is our mindset,” Brynn said. “You can’t win 10 points in one swing, you can only get one. So when we flip the switch, it means we’re getting that first point.”

Lila Vaughn and Karis Lippert provided some much needed variety to the AGWSR attack to pull blockers away from Brynn Smith. Vaughn had nine kills and Lippert added six.

“Lila and Karis had some really good swings,” Jill Smith said. “That was a total team effort. Our kids on the bench were so loud and encouraging. We’re just really proud of all of our kids.”