Golden Hawks Soar

Mid–Prairie ends Mediapolis' season in Class 2A regional semifinal.

By JOHN BOHNENKAMP
jbohnenkamp@thehawkeye.com

WELLMAN — It wasn't that Mediapolis High School's volleyball team didn't have enough scouting information on Mid–Prairie.

What the Bullettes found out in Thursday's Class 2A regional semifinal was that the Golden Hawks could play better than advertised.

Mid–Prairie ended Mediapolis' season with a 25–17, 23–25, 25–12, 25–10 win at Tim Grady Gymnasium that put the Golden Hawks one step from the state tournament.

"We had some tape of them and we had scouted them in person," Mediapolis coach Dennis Jandrey said. "We knew they had some athletes and that they played well. But their offense played much better tonight."

"We were aggressive with our attacking," Mid–Prairie coach Lisa Doser said. "We knew we were going to have to be aggressive."

The two teams appeared evenly matched through the first two games. The Golden Hawks (19–14) took control with an impressive third game that took away any of the momentum Mediapolis (28–14) had built with the second–game win.

Leading 8–6, Mid–Prairie scored seven of the next 10 points. Twice Mediapolis was called for lifting the ball, calls Jandrey argued to no avail.

"Those were points that could have stopped the momentum," he said. "If we could have gotten a couple of those points we could have kept the momentum that we had."

Mid–Prairie's lead increased to 20–11 before the Bullettes were able to get a point on a side–out. The Golden Hawks scored the next five points, with Amy Boehmer getting two kills in the run and Katie Herrington one.

The fourth game was dominated by Mid–Prairie, which took a 13–2 lead. Senior outside hitter Stef Shalla dominated in that stretch with four kills and a block.

Shalla, Herrington and Boehmer provided a front–line wall that the Bullettes could never seem to hit over.

"They've got so many good athletes," Jandrey said. "A lot of power there."

Herrington and Shalla each had kills during the final three–point run that sent the Golden Hawks to the next round.

"Number 10 (Shalla) was overpowering," Jandrey said. "They have a lot of good hitters."

After a slow start in the first game, Mediapolis came around and battled Mid–Prairie throughout the second game.

The Bullettes gained control and momentum with a six–point run that included two kills by Bethany Weber. Mediapolis led 23–20 before three consecutive kills from Boehmer tied the game. But Mid–Prairie's Dani Boyd was called for a carry, setting up game point that Jesika McLaughlin recorded with a kill.

But while Mediapolis got momentum, the second game also put a spark in the Golden Hawks.

"We weren't aggressive in that game, and I think our kids realized it," Doser said. "Once we started attacking again, that got our offense going."

"They were a little better than we were, and that was the difference," Jandrey said.