Crusaders swept out of Class 1A semis

CORALVILLE — The farewell wasn’t going to be easy.
But Adalyn Kruse knew it was coming some time this week at the Class 1A state volleyball tournament.
“Everything has to come to an end,” the Holy Trinity senior said. “So I was kind of prepared for it.”
The end to the season came Wednesday night in the semifinals, when top seed Ankeny Christian defeated the fifth-seeded Crusaders 25-14, 25-14, 25-21 at Xtream Arena.
Ankeny Christian (40-2) will play third seed Janesville (32-12) in Thursday’s 7 p.m. championship match.
The Crusaders finished their season at 31-7, back at the state tournament after missing it last season and with a future of high expectations after this season’s run.
“It just wasn’t on our side tonight,” Holy Trinity coach Melissa Freesmeier said. “But I’m proud of our season and what these kids did. I think we fulfilled expectations that were beyond what people believed.”
The season that started on a hot, humid night at Burlington’s Bracewell Stadium for the historic outdoor Battle At Bracewell event ended on the sport’s biggest stage in the state. Holy Trinity got to the semifinals by rallying past Wapsie Valley in five sets in Tuesday’s quarterfinals, but Ankeny Christian brought a game that the Crusaders fought to match.
“Oh, they were really good,” said Elizabeth Griffin, the senior setter for the Crusaders. “You got to give it to them. They're No. 1 for a reason.”
“They're a really good team,” Kruse said. “They run a way quicker offense than we are used to down in the south part of the state. They play  just a quicker game, and we're not used to that. So I think that just tripped us up a lot.”
The Crusaders had 16 hitting errors and eight serving errors on a night when they could afford few mistakes.

“We kept fighting,” Freesmeier said. “I thought that we made a few mistakes that we didn't make last night. And against a good team, you cannot make those mistakes. But that’s the game when you play here. You’ve got to be at your best for three nights in a row.”
Ankeny Christian’s Havanna Dolbeare, among the kill leaders in Class 1A, had 20 in this match, and with Breese Bentz adding 14, the Crusaders had a difficult time containing the Eagles’ offense.
“They stayed in system most of the night,” Freesmeier said. “And when they stayed in system, I think our kids were a little lost out there and just couldn't get their hands on the ball. Last night, we were defensively good, and tonight we weren't.”
Holy Trinity’s best set was the last one, when the Crusaders rallied to twice tie the match after falling behind 12-5, the last tie coming at 18-all on Kruse’s ace serve. Holy Trinity fought off one match point on a kill from Kate Pieper, but the Eagles ended the night with Dolbeare’s final kill.
“We showed up here that we can stick with the good teams,” Kruse said.
“We kept pushing, we didn’t quit,” Griffin said.
Freesmeier used 10 players in Wednesday’s match, and eight will be back next season.
She knew what she was losing in Kruse and Griffin.
“They're going to be missed,” Freesmeier said. “Adalyn, you've seen all the things she can do. She's a hitter. She digs the ball. She has a little sass to her, and you know, that's just what makes her good. And Elizabeth, she runs our offense and is always very positive, always up and ready to go, and is a great teammate. So those are two kids that have been a vital part of our program and are going to be greatly missed.” 
Still, the end was met with some tears along with the reflection of what the Crusaders had accomplished.
“It hurts, but I’m not going to dwell on it,” Kruse said. “We had a great season and it was fun.”
“Oh, 110 percent it’s sad,” Griffin said. “It's really tough. It's sad, but I'm glad that we got this far with this team, with these people.”