Solon's Jordan Runge (28) and Kelsey Cave (6) attempt to block a hit by Courtney Clark of Cedar Rapids Prairie during the Linn-Mar Invitational at Linn-Mar High School School in Marion on Saturday, September 10, 2011. (Cliff Jette/SourceMedia Group)

MARION — The unbeaten string ended, and Kurt Trout shrugged.

“I love homecoming week,” he said, with more than a hint of sarcasm.

Class 3A sixth-ranked Solon absorbed its first defeat of the volleyball season Saturday afternoon, falling to Dubuque Hempstead, 25-21, 25-22, in the semifinal round of the Linn-Mar Invitational.

“We played on our heels the whole match,” said Trout, the Lady Spartans’ coach. “We’ve been digging ourselves into holes, and this team didn’t let us out.”

Pleasant Valley, ranked 14th in 4A, outlasted No. 11 Hempstead, 25-12, 23-25, 15-12, in the championship match.

Chloe Miller accounted for her team’s final four points with kills as Pleasant Valley (12-4) rallied from a 10-7 deficit in Game 3.

“It’s all about how you finish,” Miller said. “I love that intense, have-to-get-it-done feeling.”

Miller ripped a kill to give PV a 12-11 lead, then — after a block by Hempstead’s Haley Van Cleave tied it — knocked down three in a row to send the Spartans back to the Quad Cities as champions.

Solon and Marion met in the final of last week’s Warrior Invitational at Cedar Rapids Washington. Saturday, the Lady Spartans and the Indians were semifinal casualties.

Hempstead (7-2) emerged from a 20-all tie to take the first game against Solon. In the second set, Solon was within 22-21 before a pair of miscues gave the Mustangs some breathing room.

Van Cleave’s kill ended it.

Marion (8-5) was eliminated by Pleasant Valley, 25-10, 25-15.

“We’re still building,” said Marion Coach Roxanne Paulsen. “We’re not totally there yet. We’re still playing a lot of kids, trying different kids in different spots. That’s not uncommon for us at this point of the season.”

The Indians jumped to a 5-0 lead in the first set, but Pleasant Valley dominated the rest of the way.

“We started strong defensively, but in a lot of long volleys, we didn’t finish those,” Paulsen said.

LINN-MAR INVITATIONAL

Pool A – 1. Dubuque Hempstead 3-0, 2. Vinton-Shellsburg 2-1, 3. C.R. Prairie 1-2, 4. Center Point-Urbana 0-3.

Dubuque Hempstead def. Center Point-Urbana, 21-14, 21-12

Vinton-Shellsburg def. C.R. Prairie 21-10, 21-19

Dubuque Hempstead def. Vinton-Shellsburg, 21-8, 21-15

C.R. Prairie def. Center Point-Urbana, 21-14, 21-18

Dubuque Hempstead def. C.R. Prairie, 21-18, 21-23, 15-9

Vinton-Shellsburg def. Center Point-Urbana, 21-11, 21-18

Pool B – 1. Solon 3-0, 2. Marion 2-1, 3. Iowa City Regina 1-2, 4. Springville 0-3.

Marion def. Springville, 21-5, 21-11

Solon def. Iowa City Regina, 21-16, 21-8

Marion def. Iowa City Regina, 21-14, 21-11

Solon def. Springville, 21-9, 21-6

Solon def. Marion, 21-15, 15-21, 15-12

Iowa City Regina def. Springville, 22-20, 8-21, 15-13

Pool C — 1. Pleasant Valley 3-0, 2. Linn-Mar 2-1, 3. Waterloo East 1-2, 4. North Tama 0-3.

Pleasant Valley def. North Tama, 21-14, 21-12

Linn-Mar def. Waterloo East, 21-14, 21-14

Pleasant Valley def. Waterloo East, 21-11, 21-9

Linn-Mar def. North Tama, 21-10, 21-15

Pleasant Valley def. Linn-Mar, 21-15, 21-15

Waterloo East def. North Tama, 15-21, 21-14, 15-8

Consolation Semifinals

Iowa City Regina def. Center Point-Urbana, 15-25, 25-16, 15-11

Springville def. North Tama, 19-25, 27-25, 15-9

Consolation Final

Iowa City Regina def. Springville, 25-18, 22-25, 15-8

Quarterfinals

Pleasant Valley def. Waterloo East, 25-11, 25-8

Marion def. Linn-Mar, 25-17, 25-16

Solon def. C.R. Prairie, 22-25, 25-13, 15-9

Dubuque Hempstead def. Vinton-Shellsburg, 25-9, 25-17

Semifinals

Pleasant Valley def. Marion, 25-10, 25-15

Dubuque Hempstead def. Solon, 25-21, 25-22

Championship

Pleasant Valley def. Dubuque Hempstead, 25-12, 23-25, 15-12