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Crusaders stop Comets’ ascent

No. 6 Holy Trinity Catholic stops No. 12 BCLUW netters to reach state

By Ross Thede 5 min read

WILLIAMSBURG -- The BCLUW volleyball team was dealt an overwhelming dose of adversity before the season and still advanced all the way to within one win of state.

Comet head coach Megan Yantis couldn't have been more proud, even if a fourth straight trip to state eluded her squad.

Sixth-ranked Holy Trinity Catholic overcame an early five-point deficit and found its flow in time to thwart No. 12 BCLUW, pulling ahead and putting away the Comets 3-0 in Wednesday's Class 1A Region 5 final at Williamsburg High School.

The Crusaders (30-6) stole BCLUW's early momentum and made their move back to Xtream Arena in Coralville for the first time since the Comets knocked them out of the state tournament bracket in 2024, prevailing 25-20, 25-13, 25-16.

Four Comet seniors tried to go 4-for-4 and another had to sit and watch as her classmates came up just shy of state. Third-team all-stater Olivia Peters suffered an offseason knee injury and didn't play a single set for BCLUW (32-15) in her senior year.

And yet, the Comets almost got there.

"It was tough seeing that other side doing the celebrating," said Yantis. "It's hard to see my seniors, my leaders having that heartbreak. As a coach, I'm always wanting what's best for my girls, so to be on the other end is definitely heartbreaking for me and for the girls.

"I just wanted this for them so much because they've given me so much this year."

The loss marked BCLUW's first regional final defeat since 2018, when Yantis's daughter and assistant coach Easton (Swanson) Cobb was a senior. Yantis was the assistant coach then, but all losses just shy of state seem to feel the same.

"I just wanted them to have that," Yantis said.

The bottom line on this night was that Holy Trinity Catholic was a bit more balanced and executed better. BCLUW jumped out to a hot start but lost its groove as the opening game went on.

The Comets led 11-5 when the Crusaders took their first timeout, and HTC answered with an 11-2 run that stalled the Comets' propulsion. In a back-and-forth battle to the end, Holy Trinity Catholic made a few more plays than BCLUW.

"I think definitely if we win that first game, it sets a different tone, but we started off so strong," said Yantis. "Then it kind of evened out and [HTC] found their voice and I do feel like there was a little bit of a momentum swing in that first game.

"I do feel like it might have been a little bit different if we would have come out on top in that first game."

The Crusaders continued with the wind at their backs, breaking away from a 10-9 lead with another massive surge. HTC scored a 12-2 run, highlighted by seven straight points, to push its lead to 22-11 in the second set. BCLUW fired back the best it could, but the lead was insurmountable by that point.

In the third set, it was 10-9 Comets the first time through the rotation, driven by a three-point rally for the first time in the match. Kylie Pekarek got a quick set to go down, Kennedy Davis scored a kill of the block, and a Crusader swinging error put the Comets on top for the first time since a 3-2 lead.

HTC's Olivia Bendlage put the ball down to tie the score at 10-all, kickstarting another Crusader surge to start the second time through the rotation. Holy Trinity scored six of the next seven points, but the Comets refused to fall apart.

A 3-1 run got BCLUW to within 16-14, but that was as close as the Comets would get. Holy Trinity scored nine of the final 11 points to put the match away, breaking into celebration.

"I do feel like we were a little off, and you hate for it to be on a night like this," Yantis said. "It happens. It sucks when it's on a big night like this, but that's sports and that's how volleyball goes. It's not always gonna go your way."

Davis, a sophomore, led the Comets with 10 kills, junior Cambria Wayman had seven and senior Raine Sireno finished with six. Pekarek, another one of the four seniors on the roster, added five kills. Sophomore setter Sally Ramirez racked up 29 assists.

Senior libero Brinna Benson tallied a team-leading 27 digs for the defense, Davis had 15 and Wayman 13.

Wayman and senior Addison Moeller combined for the team's only scoring block as HTC won the battle at the net.

Adalyn Kruse powered out 16 kills to lead Holy Trinity, while Bendlage had nine kills and Madisyn Grifin contributed eight. Makayla Simpson chipped in five kills for the Crusaders, who had six service aces to the Comets' two.

"They have some really good outside hitters," Yantis said, "and they have a few other weapons. Honestly I feel like they're almost a mirror to us.

"We knew this was going to be our biggest challenge this year on our road to state. In the back of my mind I was always looking at them. At this point you've gotta trust everything you've done throughout the season. We had to play our game and Holy Trinity played really well tonight."

BCLUW was one of five Iowa Star Conference teams in the Wednesday's 1A regional finals, but the league went 2-3 in the matches to get to state. Third-ranked North Tama was knocked off by No. 13 West Monona, while No. 9 Cedar Ridge Christian fell to No. 8 Le Mars Gehlen Catholic, 3-1.

No. 4 Janesville blanked No. 11 Starmont, 3-0, while No. 7 Dunkerton outlasted No. 10 East Mills 3-2.

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