Iron volleyball finished 2-2 in the Intercity Tournament, while the U-High Pioneers went 4-0 to claim their second consecutive Intercity Title. 

The Ironmen opened Sept. 28’s action against the Central Catholic Saints with a frustrating two-set loss (25-17, 25-23), head coach Ms. Christine Konopasek said, snapping the team’s six-game win streak.

That contest is one Konopasek thinks the Ironmen could have taken to a third set.

“Had we been a little bit more aware” and “aggressive,” the coach said, “I feel like that second set could have ended differently, and we would have gone to three. We were kind of getting into more of a rhythm.”

“After the Central Catholic loss,” Konopasek said, the team “could have tanked,” instead that rhythm carried into their match against the West Wildcats, a team that entered Intercity 17-0. 

Community beat the Wildcats in two sets (25-19, 25-21), handing West their second tournament loss and breaking the Wildcats’ four-game win streak against the Iron.

The Iron “came back and battled against West,” Konopasek said. 

Against the ’Cats, the Iron’s emotions were “steady,” their serves “tough,” and their play “consistent,” the coach said.  “I was super pleased with that.”

Community continued to ride their success into their match against U-High, celebrating a 25-20 first-set win over the top team in Class 3A before falling in the second and third (25-17, 25-10).

The Iron were the only team to take a set from U-High in the tournament, something Konopasek credits to stretches of solid serving and taking advantage of their opportunities to control the game.

In the first set against the Pioneers, Konopasek said, “Our hitters took care of the ball, and we dug consistently, which gave us more chances to rally and score.”

Ultimately, U-High’s hitters proved too much for the Iron to handle. 

“They’ve got some girls who can swing,” Konopasek said. 

Heading the attack for the green and gold were the Snow sisters – senior outside Levyn and junior middle Laney.

Laney hit .381 against the Iron, tallying four kills and seven blocks, while Levyn recorded seven kills and five blocks.

“Generally, they are just a really well-rounded team, and they don’t make tons of mistakes,” the coach said. “They are a difficult team to beat.”

“I feel like outside of [the third] U-High set, everything was close,” Konopasek said, “And I don’t know that we have hit our peak and are playing our best. We are able to compete with everybody,” regardless of their ranking. 

The Iron, though, have things they “need to improve upon to be able to come out on top of some of those matches.”

The final set against the Pioneers was a low point in the tournament for the Iron, something Konopasek attributes to the physical and mental fatigue of playing the tournament’s most competitive teams in succession–and ending Saturday against a dominant U-High roster. 

Beyond the postseason, the coach said, “Intercity is the most emotionally charged” action the Iron face all year, as the teams face opponents they’ve grown up playing alongside–or against–in junior high and on club teams. 

While the Iron stayed “on the floor and [tried] to be scrappy,” they were drained. As a result, they struggled with consistency in their final set of the weekend.

“There were some balls that we should have chased down and didn’t,” Konopasek said. “We can’t relent. We have to make sure that we are pushing and trying to finish.”

Ultimately, the Intercity losses are, in some ways, wins. 

“Some of our schedule does not allow for the same type of competition,” the coach said. “I definitely think that there are elements of having these tough Intercity matches, whether that’s emotionally, or physically, or facing good competition and talent that [make] us better for later in the year.”

Community finished the competition Sept. 30 with a two-set win over Bloomington (25-10, 25-17). 

They followed up with a conference win over Peoria Manual (25-9, 25-1) on Tuesday, Oct. 1 and will look to improve to 14-5 on the season and 6-0 in the Big 12 on Thursday, Oct. 3 when they face the 2-6 Peoria Lions.

Community will be able to cement their place in the twin city standings when they rematch against West on Oct. 8 and Bloomington on Oct. 15 in Big 12 play.