Comets waste no time in winning N-P Volleyball Invite

By John Burbridge

sports@charlescitypress.com

NASHUA — Charles City varsity volleyball coach Sue Hoefer said that participating in the nearby Nashua-Plainfield Invitational would give the Comets a chance to play against teams they normally wouldn’t see during the season and post-season.

“It’s nice to go up against different programs and see different styles of play,” Hoefer said.

Only thing was that the Comets’ encounters with these unfamiliar foes were brief as they rolled to the title with three prompt straight-set wins and were back home before 2 p.m. Saturday.

Charles City started by making short work of a senior-laden Rockford team (25-12, 25-7) before disposing of Denver (25-14, 25-15) in the semifinals.

Clayton Ridge put up a game effort in the finals, but Charles City wasn’t to be denied as it finished the tourney in a 25-23, 25-20 final.

Efficient victories usually trump monster stats, but Comet junior Sydney Loeckle still was able to compile 55 assists during the invitational

Senior Katie Foster had 35 digs and 17 kills; junior Tayler Schmidt had 19 kills and was a perfect 29 of 29 serving; senior Kelsi Crooks had 15 kills and 10 blocks; and senior Sara Martin had 27 digs and was 20 of 20 serving for the Comets.

“We moved the ball around and our hitting was pretty effective,” Hoefer said.

After dropping their first two matches of the season while facing several top-notch Class 5A teams at the Ankeny Centennial Invitational, the Class 4A fourth-ranked Comets have won 11 straight matches.

“We’re playing well, and we hope to continue to play well as we have a tough week ahead of us,” Hoefer said. “We’re going to Osage (on Thursday), and they always have a competitive team. And then we go to Cedar Falls (on Saturday) for an invitation featuring some of the best teams in the state.

“Then we host Waverly-Shell Rock (Sept. 27) and that’s always a challenge.”

Rockford went 1-2 at the invitational with a 25-18, 25-11 win over Riceville with Theresa Jones leading the way with 13 assists and three aces. The Warriors’ other loss was to West Fork (25-20, 25-20).

The hosting Huskies also went 1-2 at invitational with a win over Riceville and losses to West Fork and Clayton Ridge.