MARION — Red became yellow. Then green meant go for Pleasant Valley.

A long day at the Linn-Mar Invitational volleyball tournament ended in controversy Saturday evening, when Class 5A sixth-ranked Pleasant Valley rallied past 4A No. 8 Solon to win the championship, 16-25, 25-14, 18-16.

Solon's Vik Meade (28) volleys over Muscatine's Kaylie Miller (2) in the quarterfinals of the Linn-Mar Invitational volleyball tournament Saturday. The Spartans reached the tournament final before falling to Pleasant Valley. (Justin Torner/Freelance)

That’s how it stands now, anyway.

Here’s how it shook out:

Kelsey Hinrichs’ kill gave Solon a 14-11 lead in the third set, and as the ball hit the floor, Pleasant Valley Coach Stacey Ruff threw down her clipboard in protest of what she viewed as an illegal hit on Solon’s side of the net.

The top referee pulled out his red card, which would have been a Solon point, and — ultimately — a Solon win.

“I thought we were done,” said PV’s Sydney Strawser. “I freaked out. It was really scary.”

But after the officials huddled, the card was changed to yellow. The match resumed, and Pleasant Valley (11-1) worked its way back.

Instead of a 15-11 loss, PV scored the next three points to tie it at 14-14, then ultimately put it away on Strawser’s kill.

A yellow card is a warning — not a point — but Solon Coach Peter Gustin plans to appeal to the Iowa Girls High School Athletic Union.

“It should be our win,” he said.

Pleasant Valley made a similar (though not nearly as controversial) comeback in the semifinals, dropping the first game before fighting past Cedar Rapids Prairie, 22-25, 25-15, 15-13.

Solon (13-3) dropped a pool-play match to Prairie (5-5), then handled 5A No. 7 Muscatine and 5A No. 2 Dubuque Hempstead in a pair of impressive wins in bracket play.

“Regardless of how this is ruled, it was a positive day for us,” Gustin said. “It was an unfortunate ending. We’ll see what happens.”

Hinrichs and Kelsey Cave collected 10 kills apiece for Solon. Chloe Miller smacked 10 for PV.

Trailing 9-6 in the first game, Solon embarked on a 12-1 run to take control. PV cruised through the second set, setting the stage for a wacky ending.

Prairie entered the tournament with a 1-4 record, but enjoyed a solid tournament. The win over Solon capped a 3-0 pool effort, then the Hawks outlasted Marion in the quarterfinals before PV ended their run.

“I’m really pleased,” said Prairie Coach Kevin Geary. “We’ve got a lot of youth, but we never gave up. Once we get consistent, we’re going to be all right.”

Linn-Mar advanced to the championship bracket without Coach Rob Justis. Linn-Mar officials did not comment on Justis’ absence.

LINN-MAR INVITATIONAL

Pool A – 1. C.R. Prairie 3-0, 2. Solon 2-1, 3. Iowa City Regina 1-2, 4. Springville 0-3.

Solon def. Springville, 21-15, 21-10

C.R. Prairie def. Iowa City Regina, 21-12, 14-21, 15-9

Solon def. Iowa City Regina, 21-10, 21-14

C.R. Prairie def. Springville, 21-10, 21-18

C.R. Prairie def. Solon, 25-23, 21-11

Iowa City Regina def. Springville, 21-19, 21-11

Pool B — 1. Pleasant Valley 3-0, 2. Marion 2-1, 3. Linn-Mar 1-2, 4. Center Point-Urbana 0-3.

Pleasant Valley def. Center Point-Urbana, 21-10, 20-22, 15-6

Marion def. Linn-Mar, 20-22, 21-19, 15-13

Pleasant Valley def. Linn-Mar, 21-10, 21-18

Marion def. Center Point-Urbana, 17-21, 21-14, 15-7

Pleasant Valley def. Marion, 21-18, 27-25

Linn-Mar def. Center Point-Urbana, 20-22, 22-20, 15-10

Pool C — 1. Dubuque Hempstead 3-0, 2. Muscatine 2-1, 3. Vinton-Shellsburg 1-2, 4. Waterloo East 0-3.

Dubuque Hempstead def. Vinton-Shellsburg, 21-8, 21-9

Muscatine def. Waterloo East, 21-6, 21-10

Dubuque Hempstead def. Waterloo East, 21-5, 21-6

Muscatine def. Vinton-Shellsburg, 21-14, 21-19

Dubuque Hempstead def. Muscatine, 21-12, 15-21, 15-7

Vinton-Shellsburg def. Waterloo East, 21-23, 21-17, 15-7

CONSOLATION SEMIFINALS

Vinton-Shellsburg def. Springville, 25-23, 25-17

Center Point-Urbana def. Waterloo East, 25-15, 25-13

Center Point-Urbana def. Vinton-Shellsburg, 25-21, 25-17

QUARTERFINALS

Dubuque Hempstead def. Linn-Mar, 28-26, 25-22

Solon def. Muscatine, 25-16, 25-22

Pleasant Valley def. Iowa City Regina, 25-15, 25-10

C.R. Prairie def. Marion, 17-25, 25-17, 15-9

SEMIFINALS

Solon def. Dubuque Hempstead, 25-19, 25-20

Pleasant Valley def. C.R. Prairie, 22-25, 25-15, 15-13

CHAMPIONSHIP

Pleasant Valley def. Solon, 16-25, 25-14, 18-16