The route has had its contribution of sharp curves and steep hills. But now that road is heading east and the fifth-rated Gehlen Catholic volleyball team is set for what comes next.
"Undoubtedly we've had somewhat of an emotional ride sometimes this year," said Gehlen Catholic head coach Mike Meyer, whose Lady Jays will have their second straight state tournament appearance this weekend. "Our kids seemed to get really adapted easily to that. Now we're able to see past that too."
The Gehlen squad showed its maturity in maintaining a high degree of fun while Meyer was sidelined due to injuries sustained in an October 7 multi-vehicle accident on Highway 75.
"To get the stress off of my experience or even only the see of how that impacted the squad and on to what we wanted to accomplish, that took a short bit of doing, but we were able to do that," Meyer said.
In place to overcome the Crusaders, the Lady Jays will concentrate on a few key points.
"First of all is we get to go in there and trade with what I claim the 'wow factor'," Meyer said. "Good athletes and good teams, when they're in a big moment, they want to see the moment and not let the moment control them.
The Lady Jays dropped a 3-0 decision to Don Bosco in the quarterfinal round last November.
This year Meyer's squad has shown that it can loose and fair bring the game, even in a high-stakes match, and Meyer hopes his team will stay that in Cedar Rapids.
"Against Boyden-Hull, I thought we were very relaxed and focused - we weren't too hyped up," he said. "You can get so emotionally into (the game) that you can't physically function. To find that happy medium is leaving to be important."
The Lady Jays expect much of the 'wow factor' to be a non-factor this twelvemonth after experiencing the state tournament environment a year ago.
"I remember now that I've gone through it, I recognize how to decompress and say, 'Okay, it's real cool to be here, but we still gotta get down there and work our hardest,'" junior outside hitter Steph Rohe said.
Gehlen's opponent may not be victim to the 'wow factor' as Holy Trinity Catholic has played in the state tournament very recently. The Crusaders were a back-to-back-to-back participant from 2005 to 2007, playing in the title match two of the 3 years.
The Lady Jays will use a balanced offensive attack to dispute the Crusaders in Thursday's quarterfinal match, which begins at 12 p.m. at the U.S. Cellular Center in Cedar Rapids.
"We want to keep attacking and use a lot of mass and be very aggressive," Meyer said. "That will save them from being able to approach as good against us."
The Lady Jays feature six capable hitters in Rohe (2.7 kills per game), Amber Timmins (1.7), Kenzie Kellen (1.6), Katelin Langel (1.8), Linden Sitzmann (1.4) and Mollie Nemmers (1).
"Everybody that we have swing (at) the globe can make good nights and at any given moment can have big plays for us," Meyer said of the offensive attack.
Kellen added: "If we get the other setter to become their back we can actually do some great things.
"So we're running on getting up and hit hard."
In gain to the balanced hitters, Meyer's squad also boasts Timmins, a unanimous All-War Eagle Conference 1st team setter.
"She is a really special setter and she does a lot of things for us by distributing the globe the way she can," Meyer said. "(She is) also (special) from the stand that she can be a threat to the defence by herself. Amber's a big enough setter that she's one of our best blockers. That truly is a profit for us that way."
Meyer also addressed the grandness of overlooking the pit from the serving box.
"We want to serve aggressively," said Meyer, whose team averages 3.4 aces per punt and serves at an 88 percent clip. "Against really good teams, I ever say the kids that we desire to see the setter have to go to the spiking line to get the ball. That's about as well as an ace because it really limits the options that the former team has, particularly with the middle hitters, which (Holy Trinity) appears to have."
Another key to victory is ball control.
"When we're performing well, our ball check is excellent," Meyer said. "It surely was in our regional final - that's one of the differences between the two teams is how easily our ball control was. Not exactly in the serve receive, but likewise in free ball situations."
Finally, Meyer's squad must do the small things well, including blocking and defending a Crusaders team that is 3rd in Class 1A with a .311 kill efficiency and leads the country in total kills with 1,374 on the year.
The Lady Jays have fought hard all season long and Thursday's match with Holy Trinity Catholic is only another struggle on the route to victory.
"We wish to go down there and record them that Gehlen Catholic can play," Rohe said.
Senior Megan Tentinger added: "It's release to be a large know to be on that level again."
Watch the video preview for Thursday's game.
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