(Coralville, IA) — Riverside’s Volleyball got their 40th win of the season and kept their dreams of a state championship alive with a four set win over Union Community in the first round of the 2A Volleyball State Tournament on Tuesday.
The Bulldogs won it 27-25, 15-25, 25-14, and 25-23.
The first set was a nail biter with nobody getting a big advantage. The Knights led 19-16 but after a Riverside sideout, Sydney Somers got a huge block and a hitting error by Union tied it at 19-19. There were 8 straight sideouts and so it was tied 23-23 and a Union error gave the Bulldogs set point at 24-23. Union got the point but a service error gave Riverside another set point. The Knights won a sideout but this time two more errors by Union cost them the set.
Riverside jumped out to an 8-2 lead in the 2nd set but Union won 9 points on Abbie Estling’s serve — took a 12-9 lead and never trailed the rest of the set.
The third set was sideout city and tied 11-11 when Riverside won 8 of the next 9 points to lead 19-12. The Knights got it back to 14-19 but Lilli Reed served out the set with Somers getting key points on #23 and #25 to take a 2-1 lead in the match.
Union led most of the 4th set but not by much — trailing 12-10, Riverside got a sideout and Mallorie Sick made an incredible one handed save at the broadcast table and Lilli Reed finished it off with a kill. The Bulldogs built a 16-12 lead but Union came back to tie it 16-16. There were 6 straight ties and with the score 22-22, the Bulldogs got a sideout. An error by Union gave Riverside a 23-22 lead. Somers got a big kill to make it 24-22 and the Knight made another error on the final point to give the Bulldogs the win.
Riverside is now 40-0 and will face #1 Hinton in the 2A Semifinals on Wednesday at 4:00 pm, coverage on KSOM.
Riverside (40-0)
Lilli Reed 16 Kills, 11 Digs, 2 Blocks, 1 Ace
Sydney Somers 12 Kills, 12 Digs, 3 Aces
Vivian Gross 9 Kills, 2 Blocks
Ashley Kelley 38 Assists
Mallorie Sick 10 Digs
Sophia Fenner 14 Digs
Arabella Singleton 5 Kills
Union (44-8)
Bianca Grimm 15 Kills, 11 Digs
Caitlyn Schneider 8 Kills
Hinley Mast 31 Assists
Chloe Sadler 14 Digs
Box Score: Riverside v. Union VB
