Crusaders are on familiar ground

CORALVILLE — Holy Trinity’s volleyball team is back at the Class 1A state tournament after missing out last season.
The Crusaders (30-6) are the fifth seed, and will play fourth seed Wapsie Valley (28-13) in an 8 p.m. quarterfinal Tuesday at Xtream Arena.
A breakdown of the matchup:
ADALYN ON A MISSION: Holy Trinity senior Adalyn Kruse knows these will be her last matches of her high school career, and she’s been playing like it in the postseason.
Kruse, who ranks 13th in Class 1A with 339 kills, has had 39 kills in the Crusaders’ three tournament matches, including 16 in last Wednesday’s regional final against BCLUW.
“I feel like we’re definitely getting her the ball,” junior hitter Olivia Bendlage said. “We’re hitting on all cylinders right now, and she’s playing well. She’s one of our best hitters, and she’s showing it.”
And when other teams alter their defense to stop Kruse…
IT OPENS THINGS UP FOR EVERYONE ELSE: The Crusaders have plenty of power up front.
Bendlage has 212 kills. Freshman Kate Pieper has 181. Sophomore Makayla Simpson has 92, and freshman Kymber Jones has 86.
That balance showed when BCLUW shifted its defense to stop Kruse.
“We could go to Kate or Kymber in the middle,” Holy Trinity coach Melissa Freesmeier said. “Makayla was on the right side getting all kinds of kills — I’m pretty sure her ankles were above the net the way she was hitting. I haven’t seen the kill chart, but I’m sure it was pretty balanced, because it has been all year.”
MORE EXPERIENCE: The other senior in Holy Trinity’s lineup — setter Elizabeth Griffin — has controlled the Crusaders’ offense all season. She has 734 assists, which ranks eighth among Class 1A setters.
“Lizzo and Adalyn really have a good connection,” Freesmeier said. “And (Griffin) also knows how to get the ball in the right spot to everyone else.”

Griffin also is a 95.3% server, leading the Crusaders with 60 aces.
THE KIDS ARE ALL RIGHT: Pieper, Jones, Brynn Denning and Brooklyn Scheetz haven’t been daunted by playing key roles as freshmen.
Pieper leads the Crusaders with 43 blocks, and Denning leads the team with 421 digs. Jones missed the final week of the regular season and the first week of the postseason with an illness, but played the third set of the regional semifinal win over Moravia, then played her usual rotation in last Wednesday’s final. Scheetz has become a defensive specialist, coming up with 122 digs.
“They have a lot of experience playing club volleyball, and it’s shown all season,” Freesmeier said. “They really aren’t scared of anything.”
A SEASON OF ADJUSTMENTS: Freesmeier’s plan to start the season has been altered throughout the season, but the Crusaders have adjusted.
Calli Kruse was going to be the second setter in the plan to play a 6-2 scheme, but a knee injury has limited her late-season role to serving. Denning has played libero for most of the season, but shifted into a hitter’s role when Jones was out.
“They’ve taken everything that has been thrown at them and just rolled with it,” Freesmeier said.
SCOUTING WAPSIE VALLEY: The Warriors finished third in the North Iowa Cedar League East standings, but have been one of the top teams in Class 1A all season.
Like the Crusaders, Wapsie Valley has a balanced hitting attack. Taylor Schneider has 294 kills, Espyn Decker has 267 kills, Sawyer Buhr has 266 and Emry Shannon has 172.
Wapsie Valley ranks third in Class 1A in kill efficiency, while Holy Trinity is fourth. Defensively, the Crusaders rank third in 1A with 1,706 digs, while the Warriors rank eighth with 218 blocks.
THE REST OF THE BRACKET: The winner of the Holy Trinity/Wapsie Valley match will get either top seed and top-ranked Ankeny Christian (38-2) or eighth seed West Monona (25-8) in Wednesday’s 6 p.m. semifinal.
The other quarterfinals feature second seed Boyden-Hull (24-11) against seventh seed Gehlen Catholic (22-7) and third seed Janesville (30-12) against sixth seed Dunkerton (25-11).
Tickets for Tuesday's action can be purchased here: https://xtreamarena.evenue.net/event/XA27/GSV1103