(Photo – Kelsey Polaski)
STORY CITY, Ia. — The Roland-Story Norse volleyball team returned to the floor on Tuesday night, as they hosted the Golden Hawks of Mid-Prairie for the Class 3A, Region 6 final at Roland-Story High School. Roland-Story entered at 35-9 and ranked #10 in Class 3A, while Mid-Prairie entered at 21-14.
Tuesday’s first set was tight early on, as both teams traded points, before Roland-Story took control just past the halfway point of the set to win 25-14. Set 2 saw Roland-Story continue that control, leading nearly the entirety of the set to take home a 25-17 win and lead 2-0. Mid-Prairie would not fold with their backs against the wall, as they forced set 3 into extra rallies and stole the set 28-26 to make it 3-1, but Roland-Story found that extra gear in the 4th set and dominated Mid-Prairie, as Charlotte Schaben’s block ended the match at 25-12, a 3-1 victory, and a state tournament for Roland-Story for the first time in 24 years.
The Ace of the Game, presented by Ace Hardware of Webster City, is Norse senior Maddi Lucas, who had a career-high 18 kills and 4 blocks in the victory. Brookelyn Jondle tallied 20 kills and 2 aces, as Charlotte Schaben had 5 kills and 4 blocks.
LISTEN: Roland-Story coach Molly Geise talks win over Mid-Prairie and first state tournament in 24 years
Roland-Story volleyball advances to the Class 3A State Tournament next week in the Iowa City metro, as the Norse are the 8-seed and will face the top-seeded Western Christian Wolfpack at 10 AM on Tuesday, November 3rd at XTreme Arena, and can be heard on 95.7 KQWC, online at kqradio.com and on the KQWC App.