Gehlen Catholic won a thrilling regional final over Akron-Westfield 3-2 to advance to their fifth consecutive state volleyball tournament. (25-14, 25-21, 24-26, 20-25, 15-8)
Gehlen Catholic’s win over Akron-Westfield was not pretty by any means, but it got the job done. The Jays led 2-0 and were trailing 18-12 in the third set when the power went out at Bishop Heelan’s O’Gorman Fieldhouse. The ensuing delay lasted over an hour and halted the rhythm of the volleyball match at hand. Gehlen Catholic Head Coach Mike Meyer says, with the delay and his team’s play at points, that last night was frustrating for him as a coach.
The Jays came out of the delay and dropped the third set and went on to drop the fourth. Coach Meyer did not see the energy and fire he usually sees out of his team during points like this.
Coach Meyer tried to use that hour long delay to his advantage and re-energize his girls out of the break.
Despite the less than ideal conditions, Gehlen Catholic advanced on to the state tournament for the 14th time in program history. The Jays will face the 7-seeded North Tama Redhawks on Tuesday night at 6:00 PM in Cedar Rapids to open the state tournament.
