March 29, 2024

Southwest Valley season ends in semifinals

Timberwolves run into undefeated Southeast Warren in Class 1A Region 5 semis

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LIBERTY CENTER – A senior trio playing with a chip on their shoulder all year saw its season come to a close against Class 1A No. 11 Southeast Warren in the Class 1A Region 5 semifinals Monday night.

Entering the season, Southwest Valley head coach Lindsay Wetzel said the Timberwolves were expected to finish last in the conference, but with help from senior leaders Tonna Damewood, Marah Larsen and Isabelle Inman, the Timberwolves were able to finish as one of three remaining playoff teams in the Pride of Iowa.

A 15-14 overall record and 7-5 conference record put Southwest Valley as the third-place finisher in the conference standings.

“Some of those kids really stepped up,” Wetzel said. “... (Inman), I don’t even want to think about next year without her setting because we’ve had her for so long that we’re just used to having a setter that deals with tight balls really well and out-of-system balls really well.

“Marah in the middle, she’s been all over. She’s been outside, she’s been opposite and moved to middle this year. She really had a strong arm this year with her velocity and hitting the ball hard,” Wetzel said. “Then, Tonna on the outside. Tonna really didn’t play much varsity her junior year. So, stepping in and playing outside and half the rotation, that takes a lot. I thought she handled it pretty well.”

Inman recorded all 12 assists on the team and had four digs. Larsen had three kills and two blocks. Damewood was 4-for-5 on serves with two digs and one kill.

Warhawks win in three

Entering Friday, Southeast Warren lost two sets this season – one against Nodaway Valley Sept. 3 and one against Grand View Christian Sept. 28 – not dropping a set in nearly one month.

The Warhawks continued that streak, winning 3-0 against Southwest Valley to advance to the Region 5 finals and a chance to advance to the state tournament.

Wetzel said she knew the task was going to be tough, but with Southeast Warren playing the same defense as Lenox, the team knew where they holes were. The Timberwolves just weren’t able to get anything going offensively.

“We knew what their hitters were. We practiced that and we scouted that,” Wetzel said. “We just did not hit well. We only had two kids hit in positive efficiency and one of those was our setter, so we just kind of could not get a whole lot going.”

Southwest Valley started out the first two sets trailing 6-0 and never held a lead at any point throughout the three-set match.

Wetzel said against a team that's undefeated, "they aren't going to let you rattle off too many in a row," so to play from behind early was difficult.

After starting the first set down 6-0, Wetzel called a timeout, telling the girls to calm down, relax and focus on passing and setting their feet.

The Timberwolves were able to flip the serve after a Kaylee Bauer serve went long.

Norah Lund recorded an ace before the Warhawks took control of the serve after a kill. Southeast Warren went up 12-2, extending the lead to 21-9 on a 5-0 run to force the Timberwolves’ second timeout.

Trailing 23-10, Southwest Valley flipped the serve after a Southeast Warren block fell back on its own side. Lund recorded an ace, a Warhawk attack went long and another block falling on its own side from a Samantha Larsen attack cut the deficit to 23-14.

Southeast Warren ended the set by a kill from Alivia Ruble and a miscommunication to take the first set 25-14.

A 7-0 start from unforced Southwest Valley errors, a Southeast Warren block and Ruble kill forced a timeout.

Out of the break, Southwest Valley was able to cut the lead to 15-8, capitalizing on Southeast Warren attacks going out of bounds and serves into the net. A 4-0 Southeast Warren run caused another timeout, but the Warhawks were able to end the set on a Makayla Ruble block up 25-10.

The Timberwolves best start came in the third set, trying to stay alive by forcing a fourth set.

Southwest Valley responded down 3-0 with a three-point run of its own from a Kyli Aldrich kill, Marah Larsen kill falling on a block and a Lund ace to tie the set at three apiece. The 3-3 tie was the closest Southwest Valley came to taking a lead in the match.

A violation flipped the serve back to the Warhawks. Southeast Warren capitalized to take a 7-3 lead. A serve into the net, return into the net and Samantha Larsen tip cut the deficit to 9-8 before Southeast Warren took over with a 5-0 run to go up 14-8 and force a timeout.

A serve out of bounds flipped the serve, but two Alivia Ruble kills and two Zoey Sherman aces gave the Warhawks an 18-9 lead.

The Timberwolves cut the deficit back down to 18-13, working against a Southeast Warren team that made Southwest Valley work for every point.

Southwest Valley went on to close out the game on a 6-0 run, taking the set 25-14.

“The kids fought hard and had a chip on their shoulder from the beginning of the season,” Wetzel said. “A lot of people picked us to finish last in the conference, or close to last. I think that was good because it added fuel to the fire. They’re better than that.”

Southeast Warren 3, Southwest Valley 0

Serving (aces) — Tonna Damewood 4-5, Marah Larsen 4-4, Samantha Larsen 8-9 (1), Norah Lund 12-12 (2), Ryanne Mullen 3-4, Tierney Dalton 0-1, Isabelle Inman 4-5.

Attacks (kills) — Kyli Aldrich 23 (7), Tonna Damewood 11 (1), Marah Larsen 19 (4), Samantha Larsen 14 (2), Norah Lund 8 (1), Isabelle Inman 4 (1).

Blocks — Marah Larsen 2, Samantha Larsen 1, Norah Lund 1.

Setting (assists) — Isabelle Inman 12.

Digs — Norah Lund 6, Isabelle Inman 4, Maggie Haer 3, Tonna Damewood 2, Samantha Larsen 2.