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With a little help from their friends — make that their fans, Newton High’s Cardinal volleyball players want to make a statement at Saturday’s 2014 Cardinal Volleyball Invitational. Battling to find a winning stride, the Cardinals are encouraging NHS fans to come to the all-day tournament to add energy to their play on the court.
“Let’s get a crowd on Saturday. It’s always more fun to play in front of a large crowd and packed gym and playing at home is always more fun,” said Laura Rowen, Newton head coach.
“The girls are excited to host a tournament because there are good teams coming to the tournament to challenge us. They feel that they have improved greatly since our last home tournament, and they are ready to prove how good they are. As coaches we are excited to see the changes they are going to make and bring to the game.”
Action begins Saturday at 8:30 a.m. There are two four-team pools. Teams in Pool A, which are Newton, Des Moines North, Class 2A’s fifth-ranked Eddyville-Blakesburg-Fremont, and Class 4A’s 10th-ranked Boone, play in the NHS upper gym. Pool B — Carlisle, Class 4A top-ranked Harlan, Pella and Ottumwa — will be in the NHS lower gym.
Admission is $6 for adults and $4 for students.
The top two teams in each pool advance to championship pool matches to be played in the upper gym. The bottom two teams in each pool advance to consolation pool play in the NHS lower gym.
There is a 30-minute break between the conclusion of pool play and start of championship-consolation round matches.
Harlan is going for its fourth consecutive Cardinal Invitational championship. Harlan beat Pella in last year’s championship match. Newton finished fourth in the tournament a year ago.
But the Cardinals bring a different team into the 2014 tournament with only one starter from the 2013 squad on this year’s team. Newton is struggling to find the right combination of players on the court to be consistent in play, which will translate to success.
Newton (5-18) opens the tournament against Des Moines North at 8:30 a.m. on court No. 1. The Cardinals play Eddyville-Blakesburg-Fremont next on court No. 2, and finish pool play against Boone on court No. 1.
“We’ve been told by other teams that our gym is too quiet. We want to bring the noise Saturday,” Rowen said. “A strong home crowd can give a team energy. Like I said before, it’s always more fun to play for someone, to play in front of a crowd which is behind you, so we invite our fans out to give us a boost Saturday.”
Sophomore Megan Pressgrove leads Newton in kills with 75 and set assists with 98 as a setter. She is a 90-percent server with 15 ace serves. Pressgrove is the lone returner from last year. Newton’s only senior this season is Sydney Hemann, who has 26 kills, 10 ace serves, 46 set assists and 26 digs.
Taylor Shipley and Morgan Allen, both sophomores, have 33 kills each. Shipley has put up 72 set assists and has 36 digs. Allen has 15 block assists and one solo block this season while Pressgrove has 11 block assists and one solo block.
Leading the team at the service line is sophomore Ryanne Rausch with 25 ace serves. Rausch also has three solo blocks at the net and 17 kills. She has 78 digs. Junior Fran Lucas, Newton’s libero, tops the list in digs with 113.
Sophomore Kaytlin Ahn has delivered 54 kills at the net and 52 digs defensively. Ahn served up 19 aces so far this season. Junior Allison Ergenbright has 12 kills.
Contact Sports Editor Jocelyn Sheets at (641) 792-3121 Ext. 6535 or jsheets@newtondailynews.com.
NHS Cardinal Volleyball Invitational
Pool Play
Pool A
Upper Gym
Court 1
Newton vs. Des Moines North
Boone vs. Des Moines North
Newton vs. Boone
Court 2
Eddyville-Blakesburg vs. Boone
Newton vs. Eddyville-Blakesburg
Des Moines North vs. Eddyville-Blakesburg
Lower Gym
Pool B
Court 1
Carlisle vs. Pella
Ottumwa vs. Pella
Ottumwa vs. Carlisle
Court 2
Harlan vs. Ottumwa
Carlisle vs. Harlan
Pella vs. Harlan