Mepo wins vs. New London

Mediapolis claims district title with sweep over Tigers.

By Shane Barron

The Hawk Eye

MEDIAPOLIS -- Don't tell Mediapolis volleyball coach Dennis Jandrey that Monday night's Class 1A district final at home against New London wasn't important.

It was.

Even though Mediapolis and New London would have advanced to play another game regardless of the outcome, Jandrey knew that a win over the No. 13 team in the state would go a long way toward his own team's success.

"At this time of the year you have to have an attitude that you want to be on a roll," Jandrey said. "I don't want to try to come here tomorrow after school and try and get kids ready in one night and probably have to travel somewhere. I don't want to have to get ready for any team after getting beat the night before."

The Bullettes had plenty of ammunition Monday in declawing the Tigers 15-12, 15-9 and 15-4 on Vernon "Bud" McLearn court at Mediapolis High School.

The sixth-ranked Bullettes improved to 28-4-5 on the season and will face Marquette at home in a regional quarterfinal match Wednesday night.

The Tigers must now face just as stringent a test as they travel to Fort Madison Aquinas on the same evening. The Lady Dons are ranked No. 8 in the final Class 1A poll.

The first game was pivotal in deciding between the two SEI Superconference powers. New London looked a little apprehensive at first as they struggled with their passing and communication.

Mediapolis seized the opportunity to race out to a 7-0 advantage. After the Tigers calmed their nerves a little bit, play on both sides of the net picked up a little bit. New London clawed its way back to a 12-8 deficit before junior Rylee Olsen crushed a pair of aces to halve the margin to 12-10. Mediapolis' Margaret Kuenzler had her spike go into the net. New London's Stephanie Fischer's block evened the score at a dozen apiece.

With crucial momentum swinging in the balance, the Bullettes showed why a visiting team usually doesn't have much success on their own floor.

A Brenna Nelson kill was followed by two New London miscues and Mediapolis took the pivotal opening game.

"I thought the kids came out with a lot of emotion," Jandrey said. "That is something we have been talking about with these kids is that they need to play at that emotional level.

New London coach Maureen Heath said the first game had some highlights for her team. But, not enough.

"I praised the kids a little bit for coming back from 7-0," Heath said. "But, that's where Mediapolis has so much power. They just keep pushing at you."

The Tigers failed to push back.

The Tigers had one battle left in them, running out to a 5-3 cushion in the second game. But, a torrid serving game from Sarah Schulte effectively quelled New London's comeback bid. Schulte rolled off eight straight points on her serve capped by an ace down the right baseline. Schulte was 21-of-21 serving on the night with two of her three aces coming during this stretch.

New London battled back to an 11-9 deficit, before Mediapolis' Ashlee Baker took over with her serve and the Bullettes' front line took over at the net.

Baker took Mediapolis to 14-9 with an ace and Mediapolis' front wall took care of Olsen's spike attempt to close out the game.

The loss had New London looking for answers to several questions. Now, they only have one night to study for these answers.

"We couldn't get our passing going at all," Heath explained. "We had a lot of miscommunications and our passing struggled all night. We showed some sparks tonight, but not enough."

With a 2-0 lead, any wind that New London had left in their sails was methodically extracted.

With excruciating precision, the Bullettes controlled play with either laser-precision kills or dinks that crept in between New London's outstretched fingers. All in all, it was an impressive performance for the Bullettes.

"I think a little bit of that goes back to our serving," Jandrey said. "We were getting people involved that we wanted to get involved."

Mediapolis

Kills -- Jo Kester 21, Margaret Kuenzler 9, Ashlei Jandrey 7, Brenna Nelson 9.

Assists -- Ashlei Jandrey 47.

Serving -- Sarah Schulte 21-21 (3 aces), Ashlei Jandrey 12-15 (2 aces), Ashlee Baker 17-18 (2 aces), Meta Kramer 17-17, Laura Spanhut 6-7 (1 ace), Krista Wirt 2-2, Margaret Kuenzler 2-2.

Digs -- Meta Kramer 13, Jo Kester 12, Ashlee Baker 9, Margaret Kuenzler 8, Ashlei Jandrey 3.

New London

Kills -- Stephanie Fischer 14, Courtney Pilch 11, Rylee Olsen 8, Katie Lorber 5.

Assists -- Megan Alden 35.

Serving -- Courtney Pilch 13-13, Megan Alden 14-14 (1 ace).

Digs -- Courtney Pilch 12, Piper Williamson 11, Rylee Olsen 10, Katie Lorber 10, Megan Alden 8, Stephanie Fischer 7.