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Comets sweep Vikings and volleyball regional semifinal, to face No. 1-ranked Saints in final

Comets sweep Vikings and volleyball regional semifinal, to face No. 1-ranked Saints in final
Press photo by John Burbridge
Charles City junior Sofia Parrott sets the ball as freshman Avery Low gets ready to make a hit during the Comets’ 3-0 regional semifinal win over Decorah on Thursday.

By John Burbridge

sports@charlescitypress.com

CHARLES CITY — Like for division rivals in the National Football League, it’s generally an arduous task for a high school volleyball team to defeat a common foe three times in a season — especially if both teams are competitively if not evenly matched.

The Decorah Vikings would have had to defeat Charles City for the third time this season — and for the second time in less than a week — for them to advance to the championship match of the Class 4A-Region 1 bracket.

The Comets had defeated the Vikings in Northeast Iowa Conference league play on way to winning the final NEIC regular-season title — the conference is due to disband at the end of the current school year. But Decorah had defeated the Comets on their own floor during a weekend tournament earlier this season, and more recently dispatched Charles City during the final NEIC Tournament this past weekend.

But even though the Vikings were able to take early leads in each of the three sets during Thursday’s regional semifinal at Comet Gym, the hosts were clearly the better team while sweeping Decorah 3-0 (25-23, 25-18, 26-24).

The Comets (22-9) now advance to the finals where they will face No. 1-ranked Xavier in Cedar Rapids next Tuesday (Oct. 29). The Saints, who like the Comets received a first-round bye to the semifinal round, eliminated Waverly-Shell Rock 3 sets to 1.

The winner will advance to the State Volleyball Championships.

If the Comets advance, it will be their first state appearance since 2016.

If the Saints advance, they will be vying for their second state title in three seasons and third since 2020.

After Decorah took a 4-1 lead in the first set, a kill by Comet junior Sofia Parrott put Charles City up 7-5. The Vikings eventually tied it at 23-23 before a blocking kill by Comet freshman Avery Low and another kill by Low closed the set.

Similar to the first set, Decorah jumped out to a 5-1 lead in the second before a kill by Mya Rimrod tied it at 7-7 ahead of two service aces by senior Anya Ruzicka gave the Comets a 12-8 lead.

A kill by Viking junior McKinley Massman tied it at 13-13 before a kill by Charles City freshman Addison Ellis capped a 4-point run to put the Comets up 17-13.

A blocking kill by junior Emerson Mayhew put Charles City up 23-15 before another kill by Mayhew closed the set.

Decorah jumped out to another 5-1 lead in the third set and managed to widen the gap to 10-4. Eventually, the Vikings got it within a set point (24-23) before a kill by Rimrod tied it ahead of a blocking kill by Mayhew which put Charles City at match point.

That’s when Rimrod slapped in an ace, sending the Comets to the regional final.

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