Comet unable to dig out of 0-2 hole while losing 4-set VB match against Go-Hawks

By John Burbridge

sports@charlescitypress.com

CHARLES CITY — If you dig deep enough, you might hit the ceiling.

That’s what happened when Waverly-Shell Rock junior Delilah Kroymann dove all-out to prevent a heavy-handed killing attempt from Charles City freshman Addison Ellis from cracking the lacquer finish on the Comet Gym floor, causing the ball to shoot up like a ignited firework into the gym’s rafters.

The ball bounded downward at about the same velocity, prompting another diving save by the Go-Hawks, who were able to bump the ball back over the net on the third hit where a double-hit violation by the Comets gave the visitors a 9-8 lead in the fourth set of Tuesday’s volleyball match between the former Northeast Iowa Conference rivals.

The emphatically celebrated point seemed to give the Go-Hawks the tonic they needed to regain control of the match after they had convincingly won the first two sets (25-20, 25-16) only to have the Comets respond with a one-side win in the third set (25-12) before taking an early 7-4 lead in the fourth.

The Go-Hawks managed to extend their lead in the fourth (14-9) before a dual blocking kill by senior Jadyn Van Horn and freshman Avery Low followed by an ace by senior Anya Ruzicka tied it at 14. The Go-Hawks eventually prompted match point at 24-20 before three-straight points by the Comets — blocking kills in order by junior Evelyn Mayhew and Low, and a service ace by Mya Rimrod — pulled the hosts within one.

Eventually a kill by WSR sophomore Lizzy Frazell closed the set (25-23) and sealed the win.

For the Go-Hawks, who were led by Frazell’s 13 kills and senior Sydney Bienemann’s 36 assists, the victory got them closer to .500 (8-10) after a sluggish start to the season.

Charles City fell to 14-5 overall despite double-figure kills by Rimrod (19), Van Horn (10) and Ellis (10); and a season-high 53 assists by junior Sofia Parrott, who ranks seventh among Class 4A setters in that category.

The Go-Hawks jumped out to a 7-2 lead in the first set with a service ace by sophomore Rhett Dahlquist, then later took a 20-14 lead with an ace by Bienenmann. Parrott assisted a kill by Ellis to pull the Comets within four (22-18) before WSR won the set.

A pair of hitting kills by Go-Hawk sophomore Adalyn Tucke sandwiching a blocking kill by Tucke in between helped WSR jump out to a 6-2 lead in the second set. An ace by Miyah Stevenson pulled the Comets within two (9-7), but that’s as close as they got.

Hitting kills by Rimrod with Parrott assisting, and a pair of blocking kills by Mayhew — who led all blockers with six on the night — helped Charles City attain a 7-1 lead in the third set.

Kills by Ellis and Van Horn helped put the Comets ahead by double-digits (18-7) before a blocking kill by Mayhew closed the set and forced a fourth.

The Comets won’t be back in action until next Tuesday (Oct. 1) when they travel to Crestwood to battle the Cadets for one of the few remaining NEIC volleyball matches to be played before the conference disbands at the end of this school year.