Bobcats find prosperity in pink | News, Sports, Jobs

The Bobcats won in three sets over Waverly-Shell Rock and finished second in the Pat Apgar Invitational tournament at Marshalltown High School.

MHS won 9-21, 23-21, 18-16 over the Go-Hawks, who were the preseason Class 4A ranked team before falling out of the rankings this week. It was Marshalltown’s first Apgar Invite victory since a three-set victory over Waterloo Columbus in 2020.

“We definitely have to celebrate those wins,” Marshalltown head coach Jen O’Neal said. “The girls have been struggling with that part the last few years, so to get the win was great for us and we’re going to keep building on that.”

The win came on the heels of a disappointing three-set loss to Waterloo Columbus, where the Sailors rallied to beat the Bobcats 17-21, 21-19, 15-12. Solon, ranked ninth in Class 3A, quickly defeated Marshalltown in the final match of the night, 21-9, 21-8, to win the round robin with a 3-0 record.

TR JAKE RYDER PHOTO – Bobcat defenders Ellie Hughes (21) and Madison Rogers (8) try to block a shot from Sophia Keys (4) of Waterloo Columbus during Thursday’s volleyball match at the Roundhouse.

In the first set against Waverly-Shell Rock, the Go-Hawks won the set on a 10-0 run, helped by four aces from Dawn Meyer-Lillibridge.

“Our serve was spot on at the beginning and then we started to wobble,” O’Neal said. “We really talked about getting that right because we can’t run the offense if we can’t serve well. That’s definitely something we’ll focus on in practice tomorrow and Monday.”

Trailing 20-17 in the second set, the Bobcats got points from Kennedy Feldman and Madison Rogers, then an ace from McKenna Coleman to tie it at 20-20. W-SR had match point again on a kill by Sydney Bienemann, but the Bobcats scored the next three points in a row to win.

“We’re always chasing the ball, playing aggressively,” O’Neal said. “Our bench is looking for spaces and just playing aggressively, being aggressive. Instead of giving them free ball, we’ve got to get them moving a little bit.”

The Go-Hawks looked like they would be the comeback kids in the 15-point third set, rallying from 13-7 down to take a 15-14 lead. An error on a match point gave Marshalltown a chance, and Feldman hit an ace to put the pressure back on the Go-Hawks. Bienemann again responded with a block, but a service error and an attack error by Waverly-Shell Rock secured the win for the Bobcats.

JAKE RYDER PHOTO TR – Marshalltown setter Kennedy Feldman (6) charges ahead to tackle Lilly Fereday (5) of Waterloo Columbus during their volleyball match Thursday at the Roundhouse.

Columbus used a 5-0 run in the second set to even the score, and Marshalltown won the third set with three match points, including game-winning shots by Laney Danielson and Olivia Holmgren.

“We just have to get that pass so we can run our offense,” O’Neal said. “It’s somewhere between that and speeding up our offense. We’re trying to run different sets and go hard and try to confuse the defense.”

Solon, last year’s Class 3A state runner-up and now coached by former West Liberty captain Ruben Galvan, scored 19-5 in the first set and opened the second set on a 12-2 run.

“We definitely aspire to play at that level, to play as fast as they do,” O’Neal said. “It’s good to have that on film now and see how we can emulate that in our game, but also how we can break down teams that are doing the same thing.”

With nine players returning from last year, O’Neal expects a cohesive, hard-working team to emerge in O’Neal’s first year as Bobcats coach.

“They have that cohesiveness, that sense of community where they want to play with each other and for each other,” O’Neal said. “That’s helpful to me as a first-year coach because that’s one part I don’t have to worry about. They’re one team and that’s what we strive for.”