Mr. Jeff Christopherson

Against West, Community finished with 33 kills on 105 swings, 30 assists, 71 digs and 7 aces. Michigan State Commit Alana Whitfield led with 10 kills., while senior Maggie Michaels (pictuted) added 7 kills and 15 digs.

When Community swept Normal West on Oct. 7, the win was a crucial step toward the Ironmen’s first Big 12 title since 2021 and the team’s first undefeated conference run since 2019. 

That two-set victory doubled as payback for last year’s season-ender against West, when the Wildcats handed the Iron a straight-set loss, winning the second match 30-28. 

That defeat, head coach Ms. Christine Konopasek said, was “devastating,” because the Ironmen “poured so much” into the match before falling on the road.

But this season, the Ironmen controlled both sets, winning 25-17, 25-22.

While West has battled injuries this season, Konopasek and senior outsider hitter Maggie Michaels said the win stands on its own. 

Teams “play the hand” they’re dealt, Konopasek said, and Community, too, has dealt with injuries this season—playing their first 13 matches without being at full strength.

Against West, Konopasek said, the Ironmen still had to “show up and do their job.”

“I don’t think that has to take away from the fact that we got to go there and beat them in two,” Konopasek said.

Michaels said West was missing outside hitter Avery Feltes but the Wildcats still put multiple college-bound players on the floor—Eden Hafermann (Division I), Laine Thompson (Division I) and Olivia Ziemer (Division II).

Feltes is “definitely a key factor,” Michaels said, to the Wildcats’ success, but West had “majority of their players” available.

The rivalry win carried added weight for Community, which Michaels called a breakthrough after years of West being “the team to beat.”

The result kept Community on track in the Big 12 race, a title they claimed against Danville on Oct. 21 on senior night.

Additional reporting by Grace Powell and Samantha Sadicoff.