Third time is a charm for MV
by Crystal Eskelsen · November 19, 2009

After two consecutive years as the Class 3A runner-up at the state tournament, the Mount Vernon Mustangs finished the 2009 season as the Class 2A state champions.

They did it in dominating fashion at the U.S. Cellular Center in Cedar Rapids. The Mustangs scored 248 points to their opponents’ 135. They topped Sheldon in the championship match, 25-8, 25-14, 25-9.

“We were so determined this year,” said junior Sarah Ryan. “We did not want the same ending. We were constantly working on bettering ourselves.”

“It was obvious we came to take care of business,” said coach Shirley Ryan. “We really felt we could have won it last year, but we played tight and didn’t bring our ‘A’ game.”

This year the Mustangs played just 10 games on their way to the state title, finishing the tournament with a 9-1 record and wins over Pella Christian, Wapsie Valley and Sheldon.

“It feels so amazing, especially after coming up short before,” Sarah Ryan said. “Winning the state title makes it so much easier to go about my day.”

“I am going to savor this a long time,” Shirley Ryan said. “We played with such heart, it was cool.”

“It is a phenomenal feeling,” said senior Karly Cochrane. “We made our spot in history. It was great to be a part of it.”

“This weekend was incredible,” said junior Amanda Platte.

Mount Vernon started the tournament Thursday, Nov. 12, against Pella Christian.

“I think we were all a little nervous,” said Platte.

“We did not dwell on the fact that we had beaten them before,” said coach Ryan. “We feel fortunate we got on the half of the bracket that we did.”

The Mustangs made quick work of Pella Christian, winning the match 3-0 (25-7, 25-11, 25-9).

The Mount Vernon attack was led by Amanda Platte with 12 kills in the match. Teammate Ali Stark had five ace serves to lead the Mustangs.

This win moved the Mustangs to the semifinals against Wapsie Valley.

The first two games were closer than the previous round as Wapsie managed to stay in the game. Mount Vernon won game one, 25-16, and game two, 25-18.

Mustang Taylor Dicus was hitting the ball well and kept Mount Vernon in the lead during the first two games.

“Taylor has been coming on all season,” said coach Ryan. “She was a huge factor and had a great tournament run.” (This is the first year as a Mustang for Dicus; her family moved here from Florida when her dad took a job coaching football for Cornell.)

In game three, Wapsie Valley came right at the Mustangs, scoring the first point (as they did in every game during the match).

Mount Vernon battled back and took a 5-2 lead on a Courtney Kintzel kill.

Wapsie Valley tied it back up at 11-11 on an ace serve.

The Mustangs stayed in the lead and even opened it up to 21-17 on a Platte kill, but Wapsie Valley wasn’t about to be finished.

The Warriors sneaked back into the game on an Eryca Hingtgen kill and a Carly Wehling kill.

The game was tied at 23-23 after a Mount Vernon error. Wapsie Valley took the lead on a Wehling kill and won the game on a Hingtgen ace serve.

“We got in a funk,” said coach Ryan. “I don’t really know what happened. They started junking us to death. They did exactly what they needed to do to take us out of system.”

With a 2-1 lead in the match, the Mustangs had to regroup and get back to business.

“After we lost, we were freaking out a little,” Platte said. “But we pulled together and finished.”

“We had to read the offense more,” Sarah Ryan said. “We had to calm down, keep pace and believe in ourselves.”

“We showed a lot character coming back in game four,” said Cochrane. “I am proud of all of the team.”

Game four was a completely different story for the Mustangs. Mount Vernon got ahead 12-7 on a Brianna Strong kill and never looked back.

The game and match ended on a Kintzel kill, 25-18.

The win propelled the Mustangs to the Class 2A championship match on Saturday afternoon.

Sheldon was the competition for the title, and the Mustangs knew that the Orabs had had a tough road to the finals.

“Sheldon was a phenomenal team,” said coach Ryan. “They worked so hard to get past Dike-New Hartford (in the quarterfinals) so they could have a shot at Western Christian (in the semifinals).”

Mount Vernon was ready to play in the championship, and they came out swinging hard.

After going up 6-4 (three Stark kills and a Strong ace led the charge), the Mustangs started pulling away big time with eight unanswered points for a 14-4 lead in the first game.

The Orabs scored a point on an out-of-bounds Mount Vernon serve and earned a their first kill of the game for another point to make it 16-6 in favor of the Mustangs.

Mount Vernon kept accelerating with seven unanswered points for a 23-6 lead. At that point, Mount Vernon had out-killed Sheldon 10-1.

The Mustangs went on to win game one 25-8 and take the early 1-0 lead.

In game two, Sheldon battled hard and kept up with the Mustangs for a little while, taking an early 3-0 lead over Mount Vernon.

The Mustangs battled back and took their first lead of game two at 6-5 off a Kintzel kill.

Later, with a 12-11 Mount Vernon lead, Sarah Ryan took over the serve and started with an ace.

“I focused more on placing my serve,” Sarah Ryan said. “I am more confident with my serve now.”

Mount Vernon went ahead 15-11 on an Ali Stark kill (her eighth of the match).

“We were finally back in our rhythm at that point,” said coach Ryan.

The Mustangs sealed the win in game two behind the serving of Strong – including one ace serve in five points. Mount Vernon won the game 25-14 and took a 2-0 lead.

Game three was completely dominated by the Mustangs.

Platte got it going with a big kill, and followed it with an ace serve. Dicus earned a kill and the Mustangs were up 3-0 early.

Mount Vernon captured a 9-1 lead with the help of two more Strong ace serves.

Back-to-back kills by Kintzel and Dicus put Mount Vernon up 17-3, and suddenly the Mustangs could taste the victory.

“I was jumping around a little bit,” said Platte.

“We had to make sure we finished before we got too excited,” said Cochrane. “It was hard to keep your feet on the ground.”

“I wasn’t paying attention to the score,” said coach Ryan. “Our kids wanted it so much, they stayed on task until they got it done.”

Mount Vernon sealed the victory on another Strong ace serve and the game was over at 25-9. The Mustangs were state champions.

“I was ecstatic after Bri’s ace,” said Sarah Ryan. “I instantly felt so happy.”

Following the huge win and the state championship trophy, the team traveled back to Mount Vernon with a police and fire escort once they got to town. There was a reception in their honor at the high school and the team went out for dinner.

The Mount Vernon volleyball team will hold its annual banquet this coming Monday at the high school commons. All athletes, managers, coaches, administrators and their families are invited to attend at 6:30 pm.



Mount Vernon vs. Pella Christian

Quarterfinals

MV 3, PC 0

25-7, 25-11, 25-9

Mustang stat leaders

Kills: Platte 12, Stark 8, Kintzel 8, Dicus 5, Strong 4

Assists: Ryan 34

Aces: Stark 5, Strong 3, Platte 2

Blocks: Strong 4, Kintzel 2, Dicus 2

Digs: Platte 8, Stark 8, Weber 8, Kintzel 3

Mount Vernon vs. Wapsie Valley

Semifinals

MV 3, WV 1

25-16, 25-18, 23-25, 25-18

Mustang stat leaders

Kills: Stark 18, Kintzel 12, Dicus 11,

Platte 10, Strong 7

Assists: Ryan 46, Stark 7

Aces: Platte 2, Strong 1, Stark 1

Blocks: Kintzel 7, Stark 3, Strong 3,

Ryan 3, Dicus 2

Digs: Platte 13, Ryan 10, Weber 10,

Stark 8, Cochrane 8

Mount Vernon vs. Sheldon

Championship

MV 3, SHE 0

25-8, 25-14, 25-9

Mustang stat leaders

Kills: Stark 9, Platte 9, Kintzel 7, Dicus 6

Assists: Ryan 30

Aces: Strong 7, Ryan 2

Blocks: Kintzel 8, Stark 5, Dicus 3,

Strong 2

Digs: Weber 13, Cochrane 12, Platte 9, Ryan 8, Stark 7