CEDAR RAPIDS — The first 10 points of Wednesday night’s volleyball match between No. 12 North Tama and No. 3 Springville was a warning sign for the Redhawks. Trailing 8-2 to the Orioles and having already burned a timeout, the tenor for the match was set.

North Tama tried to break out of its early rut, but the result was a 3-0 sweep at the hands of Springville (25-10, 25-12, 25-17) that knocked the Redhawks out in the semifinals of the Class 1A state tournament at the Alliant Energy PowerHouse. This is the second time the Redhawks made it to the semifinals of state, after their run to the semis in 2019. The team’s final record was 31-11.

The Redhawks led in only the third set when they took 2-1 and 3-2 leads. Coach Channing Halstead said the team might have come “back to Earth” a little bit after riding high Tuesday during their upset win over Le Mars Gehlen. She made sure to clarify how proud she was of the team’s performances this season.

“Of course it was difficult,” Halstead said. “Holy buckets, we ended this season by beating No. 2 and No. 4, and got the chance to play No. 3. This game was difficult, but in the big picture it was really, really successful, and we came out of nowhere.”

Springville (35-4) controlled every aspect of the match from start to finish, hitting .263 while holding the Redhawks to a break-even attack. North Tama had 22 kills and 22 errors, with Jadyn Rausch — the team’s setter, albeit in a unique fashion — leading the way with eight kills. Shae Ewoldt had seven. Rausch totaled 12 assists.

Set one was a romp — Springville led by as much as 15 points, holding a 23-9 lead at the end of the set before taking the 25-10 opener. The dominance of the first-set victory combined with the Orioles’ strong start to set two (an 8-3 advantage) put the Redhawks firmly on their back foot.

Halstead said the team got a little shook at times and didn’t do enough to make the Orioles work hard for their points.

“It’s more frustrating because the other team didn’t have to do a lot, we kind of did it for them,” Halstead said. “Last night we didn’t click very well and tonight we didn’t click the best either. I saw the fear and the panic that first set, so I kind of thought we would get ourselves out of it a little bit.

“Nothing to hang our head about, we’ve just got to look at the big picture.”

North Tama had 22 attack errors, three service errors and allowed 13 service aces from Springville.

Leading the team in digs were the two key seniors for the Redhawks, Kaitlyn Calderwood and Aubree Monat, with 10 each. The duo had a tough game in their final outing for the Redhawks, but Halstead took a moment to make clear how important they were to the team’s success. Other graduating seniors for the Redhawks included Mya Sierra and Molly Vogeler, who Halstead called one of the team’s most vocal leaders.

“Kaitlyn is by far one of the most improved players I’ve ever had from the beginning to end of her career,” Halstead said. “It’s amazing to see the improvement. Aubree, I told her kind of preseason that I might start moving her to the right, and she was more than willing to do whatever she needed to do for the team. You can’t say enough about the character.”

Rausch and Lainey Willenbring had eight digs each.

The second set of the night was slightly better, but again it was clear midway through there wasn’t going to be a big threat to Springville’s lead. The third set was the best the Redhawks looked, and after leading early they cut a 10-point lead to six at 22-16. The Orioles calmly collected their last three points and the victory, as North Tama’s dream playoff run came to a halt.

With much of the team’s core coming back next season — including the attacking trio of Rausch, Ewoldt and Willenbring — there are plenty of reasons to expect the Redhawks to be fighting for another state berth in 2022.

CLASS 1A

Quarterfinals

Tuesday’s Scores

Burlington-Notre Dame def. Tri-Center, 23-25, 25-17, 25-20, 25-14

Holy Trinity Catholic def. Janesville, 23-25, 25-21, 25-22, 20-25, 15-8

North Tama def. Le Mars Gehlen Catholic, 24-26, 25-18, 25-22, 22-25, 15-11

Springville def. Gladbrook-Reinbeck, 25-23, 25-23, 24-26, 25-16

Semifinals

Wednesday’s Scores

Burlington-Notre Dame def. Holy Trinity Catholic, 26-24, 26-24, 27-25

Springville def. North Tama, 25-10, 25-12, 25-17

Championship

Thursday, Nov. 4

No. 1 Burlington-Notre Dame (37-8) vs. No. 3 Springville (35-4), 7 p.m.