CEDAR RAPIDS — The Orange and Black are back, and they’re making it memorable in case they don’t return for another 33 years.
Sheldon qualified for the IGHSAU state tournament for the first time since 1976 and scored an impressive, 23-25, 25-19, 25-19, 25-14 Class 2A quarterfinal win over Dike-New Hartford last night at the U.S. Cellular Center.
Sheldon senior Elizabeth Ihnen couldn’t stop smiling after the win.
“We really pulled together as a team,” Ihnen said. “It just shows the unity we have and the love we have for the game the …

Emily Ryan re-unites with an old teammate and we meet a mascot who’s a pretty big deal.

CEDAR RAPIDS — Can they play any better than that?
“We’re going to have to,” said Shirley Ryan, coach of the Mount Vernon Mustangs.
Top-ranked Mount Vernon was close to flawless Thursday night, drilling Pella Christian, 25-7, 25-11, 25-9, in a Class 2A quarterfinal at the state volleyball tournament at the U.S. Cellular Center.
The match — OK, mismatch — took only 54 minutes to complete.
“Everyone knows what our goal is, and we’re so close to it,” said Brianna Strong.
Mount Vernon (41-1) faces No. 4 Wapsie Valley in a semifinal at 7:15 Friday night. …

CLASS A
Mason City Newman  vs. North Tama
Time & place: 10:30 a.m., UNI-Dome in Cedar Falls
Records: No. 1 North Tama is 12-0; No. 8 Mason City Newman is 11-1
Notable: North Tama has yet to be scored on in the postseason, defeating Highland (56-0), North Mahaska (45-0) and WACO (39-0). The Redhawks have given up 18 points this season with shutouts in 10 games. Newman has beaten East Buchanan (41-14), Wapsie Valley (14-0) and Cedar Falls NU High (35-7) in the postseason, the latter avenging its only loss. Dylan Youel has 1,185 …

CEDAR RAPIDS — Cedar Rapids Xavier football coach Duane Schulte knows that some members of the local media poke fun at his team’s seemingly well-rehearsed and cliched interview answers, and he’s OK with that ribbing.
“We just want to keep doing our jobs,” is a favorite quote.  “The line blocked great and the scout team gave us great looks all week in practice,” is another.
Absolutely no bulletin board material will be provided by these guys. Braggadocio is not allowed.
Kirk Ferentz and the Iowa Hawkeyes would be proud of the things these …

CEDAR RAPIDS — Success breeds success, according to Tripoli volleyball coach Will Baumann.
The Panthers know a little bit about success. They’ve been in 10 of the last 11 state volley tournaments, winning seven titles.
Defending champion and top-ranked Tripoli swept Grandview Park Baptist, 25-22, 25-16, 25-9, in a Class 1A state quarterfinal of the state tournament Thursday at the U.S. Cellular Center.
The Panthers are serious about their tradition of reaching state and winning — a lot.
“We want to keep representing what Tripoli’s about, and that’s what we focus on,” Panthers senior …

CEDAR RAPIDS — Most likely, this is the last hurrah for Schaller-Crestland. In any sport.
The Wildcats lengthened their stay at the state volleyball tournament Thursday, sweeping New London in a Class 1A quarterfinal.
Volleyball is the only sport in which Schaller-Crestland is playing independently this school year. The school will share all other sports with Galva-Holstein.
It’s likely the schools will merge next year.
“It’s not finalized, but that’s the plan,” said Wildcats Coach Marilyn Murra.
Third-rated Schaller-Crestland (32-3) meets No. 4 Treynor in a semifinal at 6 p.m. Friday. If the Wildcats prevail, …

CEDAR RAPIDS — First objective: Extend the match.
“We weren’t going to go down in three,” said. Kaitlin Floerchinger.
As it turned out, the Treynor Cardinals didn’t go down at all.
No. 4 Treynor climbed all the way out of a two-game home and outlasted No. 12 Southern Cal, 19-25, 22-25, 25-18, 25-22, 15-8, in a Class 1A quarterfinal at the state volleyball tournament Thursday afternoon at the U.S. Cellular Center.
“In the huddle (after the second game), we were saying that we weren’t going down without a fight,” said Coach Janet Fiene. “We’ve …

Emily Ryan talks about how Don Bosco brought it’s “A” game to the tournament, as well as a look at what’s coming up this evening.