Iowa City Liberty volleyball reaches state title match after resounding win over Ankeny Centennial
Iowa City Liberty's volleyball team powered through the tenacious Ankeny Centennial Jaguars on Wednesday to earn a spot in the Class 5A state championship match at Xtream Arena (25-21, 25-19, 18-25, 25-22).
The Lightning came in aggressive and remained that way for the entire semifinal match.
The following takeaways explain why that was the case:
When the Lightning keep their mistakes to a minimum, they are nearly unstoppable
In Monday's quarterfinal against Urbandale, everyone on Liberty's team would admit that it was not their cleanest performance.
With a day to rest and recalibrate, the Lightning came into Wednesday's match looking like a team that was ready for battle.
They looked strong in their opening set wins. Even in their third set loss, they nearly mounted an improbable comeback in the dwindling moments.
The fourth set was much of the same as Liberty went on an 8-1 run to take a 21-15 lead.
The Lightning were able to do that by cutting down on their errors. The team had no sets where they had double-digit errors, a stark change from their quarterfinal performance.
An emphasis heading into this match, Lightning coach Allie Kelly said that, once her team calmed down, they began to play better.
"Part of it was adjusting to the venue," Kelly said. "Today was our second time being here, so we got some of the nerves out of the way. Then mentality-wise, I think that we were more settled in and a bit more calm starting off."
Asta Hildebrand is raising the bar for the role of a setter
Anyone who thinks that setters are not supposed to be strong hitters has never seen Liberty sophomore Asta Hildebrand in action.
Despite being the youngest player in the Lightning's starting lineup, Hildebrand's versatility has made her one of the most lethal athletes on the team.
In addition to being one of the best setters in Class 5A, she is also more than capable of holding her own at the net.
That was evident Wednesday when she finished the match with seven kills, four aces and 31 assists.
Proving that she was not one-dimensional, Hildebrand said that she credits her success to the team's practices.
"We have done a great job at practice of working at a lot of different spots," Hildebrand said. "That has helped me a lot."
With two years more years of volleyball to play after this season, Hildebrand has a legitimate chance to be one of the best players in the state if she continues at this rate.
So, what comes next?
Headed back to the state championship match for the second time in three years, Liberty feels more confident than ever that this can be the year that they can bring home their first state title.
This feeling is especially true for a strong senior class that is painfully aware that Thursday morning will be their last match as a member of the team.
"Winning a state championship this year would be the highlight of my life," Shelby Kimm said. "Coming into freshman year, I do not think any of us really knew how things were going to go. Now that we have made it this far and are in the state championship match, we want to go out with a win."
As emotional of a match as it will be, their feelings will mean nothing to the Pleasant Valley Spartans, who want to send their seniors out on the right note, too.
The Lightning split two matches against the Spartans in the regular season. Kelly said that Thursday's rubber match will be another tough task.
"We know that Pleasant Valley is extremely well-coached," Kelly said. "We know that their middles are quick, they provide a really good block, and their setter is aggressive. So, it will be a lot of what we saw today. We have to make sure that we are disciplined on defense and staying aggressive."
The teams will square off at 10 a.m. Thursday.
This article originally appeared on Iowa City Press-Citizen: Iowa City Liberty advances to state volleyball championship match
