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’Cats withstand Titans in 5

By Ross Thede 6 min read

Riding a roller coaster creates a complex mix of intense physical forces and an array of feelings.

The Marshalltown volleyball team experienced every wave of emotion on Thursday night in its home-court finale, including the euphoria that comes with a five-set win.

The Bobcats closed out their home schedule with a thrilling, up-and-down triumph over Waterloo United, beating the Titans 25-21, 25-20, 16-25, 9-25, 15-13, in their final match inside the Roundhouse.

Marshalltown (8-17) hadn't won a home match since its home-opener over Des Moines Lincoln on Sept. 1, but the five-game Roundhouse losing streak ended in exciting and sometimes gut-wrenching fashion.

The Bobcats claimed the first two sets before getting overwhelmed by Waterloo United (9-20) in sets three and four. Not even a 14-8 lead in the decisive fifth set was safe from one last free-fall.

The hollowed-out feeling Marshalltown took from Tuesday's 3-0 loss at home to Ottumwa came roaring back when Waterloo United started its rally from a 2-0 deficit, but the Bobcats started fresh in the fifth set and withstood what would have been a crushing defeat.

"We thought we had it but we just lost our energy and lost our grit for everything," said MHS senior setter Lauren O'Neal. "It came around in the fifth set. Point by point, we just had to keep going.

"It was really, really difficult to come back. We just had to come together as a team and lean on each other, and it was really great."

O'Neal held back the emotion of winning in her last home-court match until after her mom -- head coach Jen O'Neal -- concluded her post-game address.

"Tonight was a roller coaster," coach O'Neal said. "I'm glad the ride is over, that's for sure, and that I didn't throw up."

Marshalltown avenged an earlier loss to Waterloo United with the victory. The Titans took a 25-12, 25-18 triumph over the Bobcats at the Cedar Falls Tournament less than two weeks earlier, but Thursday's best-of-five showdown was something to behold.

It marked the Bobcats' first five-set win of the season (1-2).

"Waterloo's a really good team, they got us in Cedar Falls and they have some weapons," coach O'Neal said. "We needed to stay aggressive but keeping in mind to play our game, play the way we know how."

The night got off to a bit of a slow start with United jumping out to a 7-3 lead in the opening set. The Titans led 12-10 before Marshalltown mounted a 7-0 scoring surge served up by O'Neal, including an ace.

The Bobcats led 18-13, but United made a move of its own to tie things up at 19-all. A right-side kill from Brooklyn Smith got the serve back for MHS, and Anela Holloway had a pair of kills to help push Marshalltown toward a 6-2 run to end the match. Bella Avise, a senior, hit line for a kill and Lorelai Holloway had an ace as the Bobcats finished off the first set.

Waterloo United logged a 6-0 surge early in the second set to lead 7-1, but a six-point run by Marshalltown put the Bobcats on top 16-13 after back-to-back aces by O'Neal. Neither team scored more than two points consecutive for the rest of the set, and MHS had a 2-0 lead.

United again fired out to a 6-1 advantage in Game 3, but the Bobcats got no closer than four the rest of the way.

A 9-0 scoring run early in Set 4 queued the flashbacks to Tuesday's loss to Ottumwa as the Titans took a 10-1 lead. It was 15-3 United by the time coach O'Neal used her second timeout, and the downward acceleration started producing negative G-forces in the Bobcats' stomachs.

"Yeah I thought during the fourth set, we were like 'oh gosh, is this like a redo of Tuesday?" Lauren said, "but I really think we set that aside and did really good in the last set."

O'Neal's team-leading third service ace started the fifth game, but it was a back-and-forth affair until the Bobcats got three-straight points to make it 10-6. Avise scored a kill off the block and O'Neal punched a 50-50 ball over the net and it found the floor.

Marshalltown maneuvered its way to a 14-8 lead and seemed prime to put away all the ups and downs, but there was one last pit left. Waterloo United remained the aggressor and got to within 14-12 after an ace by Maelyn Wass.

Coach O'Neal's timeout message was followed by a swinging error for the 'Cats, but one last Titan error tipped the scale in the Bobcats' favor.

"I did tell them that we needed to just completely wash away Tuesday night and I am really glad that we were able to do that," she said. "I think for everybody's confidence level, but also for peace of mind. We still have a tournament this weekend and then we have regionals. We still have games to go and I didn't want that lingering dark cloud of our Ottumwa match to be what carries us through the rest of the season, so I'm glad that we can step into that with this feeling and confidence and keep pushing forward."

Smith led the Bobcats with 14 kills on the night, while Avise added 13. Anela Holloway had six kills and O'Neal had four of her own to go with 37 assists. O'Neal also led MHS with 18 digs and six blocks while serving 24-for-25 with three aces.

"This was my last home game in the Roundhouse with my mom coaching me, so it's really like sentimental," Lauren said. "All my best friends are on the court with me so there's really a lot of emotions.

"We needed this more than anything, especially going into the first round (of regionals)."

Kendall Brummel, one of three seniors, had three blocks while Smith and Lorelai Holloway had two apiece. Anela Holloway and Morgan Hilderbrand had 16 digs each, Avise finished with 13 and Collins Grant had 12.

Ava Jones led Waterloo United with 26 kills, 25 digs and 26-of-30 serving with seven aces.

Marshalltown moves on to the Oskaloosa Tournament on Saturday before visiting Urbandale in Tuesday's Class 5A Region 1 first-round pairing on Tuesday, Oct. 20. Top-ranked Waukee Northwest awaits the winner in the regional semifinals.

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