Comets defeat Vikings in new-home opener

By John Burbridge

sports@charlescitypress.com

Charles City’s spanking-new gym officially opened for business Tuesday night. And while hosting Decorah in Northeast Iowa Conference volleyball action, the Comets made sure there was no doubt that this was their house.

With a straight set (25-13, 25-19, 25-9) match victory over the Vikings, the Class 4A fourth-ranked Comets improved to 5-2 and 1-0.

Though the gym is their new home, the Comets are still adjusting to their “digs” as the match with Decorah was only the third time they hit shiny floor in earnest.

“We practiced last Friday and then the following Monday,” Comets head coach Sue Hoefer said. “Now with everything is in place, we can start practicing in here on a regular basis.”

Charles City hadn’t played since going 4-2 at the highly competitive Ankeny Centennial Invitational 10 days ago.

“I wasn’t worried about the layoff,” Hoefer said. “They were so excited about playing this first match in here, and it showed as they played with a lot of energy.”

The Comets jumped out to an 8-2 lead in the first set. The Vikings scored several unanswered points in move a little closer, but hitting kills by Sara Martin, Jodie Sindlinger and Tayler Schmidt all set up by junior Sydney Loeckle helped close the door.

The Vikings took a 4-3 lead early in the second set, but an ace by Comet senior Kelsi Crooks put Charles City ahead 5-4 as the Comets would never trail in a set for the rest of the night.

An ace by Katie Foster extended Charles City’s lead to 20-11 in the second set. The Vikings pulled within four (23-19) before Loeckle set up a kill by Schmidt and then recorded a kill herself when she deftly set the ball to an open spot on the Vikings’ side of net to close the second set.

In the third set, the Vikings put themselves in a hole with a series of service errors. The Comets didn’t experience the same problem (65-of-72 serving) as a pair of aces by Brianna Carey helped put them up 15-5 before an ace by Martin made the score 24-9.

“We expected to win today, and our girls played pretty well,” Hoefer said. “We moved the ball around and I’m happy with the effort.”

Loeckle had 27 assists, Foster had 12 digs and eight kills, Crooks had three aces and eight kills, Schmidt had nine kills, and Martin was 12-of-13 serving for Charles City, which will play Clear Lake and Mason City on Thursday at Mason City.