CEDAR RAPIDS -- Maybe they were genuine. Maybe they were somewhat forced.But the Solon Spartans were able to muster smiles for the postmatch photo with their runner-up trophy."It's a bad feeling now, but tomorrow we'll be OK," Kelsey Hinrichs said.Top-ranked Charles City rallied from a ...

CEDAR RAPIDS -- They were tight. They were tense. They were teetering with trouble."I didn't like the look of our faces," Solon Coach Peter Gustin said. "They weren't the faces of champions."The Spartans had just lost the second game and faced an early 9-1 deficit ...

Area players to watch for the 2012 volleyball season:SAM BARZ, sr., Union -- Averaged 3.5 kills per game with a .304 kill efficiency.CHELSEA BERRY, sr., Starmont -- Averaged 3.5 kills and 2.4 digs per game with a .325 kill efficiency.JORDAN CALEF, sr., Cedar Rapids Kennedy ...

SOLON -- The first day of practice was the last day at Solon High School for Kurt Trout.Saying he did not want to be a distraction to the school's sky's-the-limit volleyball team, Trout gave his resignation Monday."I had a meeting with the principal (Nathan Wear) and ...

CEDAR RAPIDS -- The transformation of the Cedar Rapids Ice Arena began last week."The first thing I did was take a giant Coors Light bottle down from the rafters," said Jeff Dralle, the facility manager.All references to alcohol have been taken down or covered up. ...

 MARION -- West Delaware couldn't finish, and Solon wouldn't quit.Facing three match points and almost certain defeat, the Lady Spartans instead wrote another chapter in an extraordinary season Thursday night.Class 3A second-ranked Solon outlasted No. 4 West Delaware, 18-25, 26-24, 15-11, to win the Wamac ...

MANCHESTER -- They came prepared.The Solon Lady Spartans brought a homemade championship banner with them, and they earned the right to display it.Class 3A second-ranked Solon claimed its first title as a member of the Wamac Conference, taking the winner-take-all battle with No. 6 West ...

CEDAR RAPIDS -- Kelsey Hinrichs had a date with an ice pack Saturday night."I'm pretty sore," she said. "But I had to play through it."A participant in a scary collision in the first game of the championship match, Hinrichs fought through the pain and led ...