The student news site of Iowa City High School

The Little Hawk

The student news site of Iowa City High School

The Little Hawk

The student news site of Iowa City High School

The Little Hawk

Staff Profile

Little Hawks Second in a Photo Finish

Liz+Hubing+13%2C+Abby+Saehler+13%2C+and+Erin+Muir+12+go+up+for+the+block+against+a+West+High+attack.++Photo+by+Annika+Wasson
Liz Hubing ’13, Abby Saehler ’13, and Erin Muir ’12 go up for the block against a West High attack. Photo by Annika Wasson
Players shake hands after losing the championship match. Photo by Annika Wasson
Liz Hubing ’13, Abby Saehler ’13, and Erin Muir ’12 go up for the block against a West High attack. Photo by Annika Wasson

By Annika Wasson

So close.  The Little Hawks engaged in a thrilling five set battle against West High that unfortunately at the end, left them asking, “What if?”.  In a classic struggle between the state’s top two ranked teams, City lost to West High in the state championship match, 25-23, 29-27, 16-25, 15-25, 16-18.

“It sucks when you really feel like you had it in your grasp,” head coach Craig Pitcher said.

After starting off with an early two set lead, the team fell into a slump in the third set when several errors and West kills put them in a seven point hole.  The fourth set was similar, but this time City had a three point lead until West came back after having a three and four point run.  In the final set, despite staying close the whole game,  the Little Hawks gave up five critical points due to service errors.

Michaela Nelson ’14 had 21 kills, Rachel Rinehart ’13 had 14, and Liz Hubing ’13 had 12.  Laura Shepherd ’12 had 20 digs and Mickey Hansche ’13 had 14.  Erin Muir ’12 had 56 assists.

Despite the final score of the match, our team and fans showed why we are “The School That Leads.”  Enthusiastic, good natured cheering between student sections and a high level of play on the court gave us all a reason to be proud this season.  The seniors will always have the memory of a year where they worked for and earned the best record in the state for any Class 4A team and made it to the biggest stage that is the State Finals.

“Hopefully we’ll get back here, but for our six seniors, this is a great way to go out,” Pitcher said.

There will be many returning players next year who have had a taste of success and can now continue to work on maintaining or surpassing the level that was achieved by this year’s team.  Saturday’s game was just one more reason why it is always “a great day to be a Little Hawk”.

Leave a Comment
Donate to The Little Hawk
$1775
$5000
Contributed
Our Goal

Your donation will support the student journalists of Iowa City High School. For 2023, we are trying to update our video and photo studio, purchase new cameras and attend journalism conferences.

More to Discover
Donate to The Little Hawk
$1775
$5000
Contributed
Our Goal

Comments (0)

All The Little Hawk Picks Reader Picks Sort: Newest

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Activate Search
Little Hawks Second in a Photo Finish