West Liberty dropped four spots in the August 31 Class 3A Iowa High School volleyball rankings from the seventh spot to No. 11.
Now, it appears the IGHSAU will need to take out their eraser.
A slow start to the week ended in near perfection for the West Liberty Comets volleyball team this week, as they captured a first-place finish in Muscatine to win another Muskie Invite title.
Following a pair of losses in Tiffin to start the week, against Class 4A’s top dog Clear Creek-Amana and Solon, the Comets rebounded to capture wins in four of their five matches to end the week.
On Saturday, the Comets struggled early in the Muskie Invite, being put in the hole early as conference foe Durant sent them in a 1-0 deficit in their first match. 21-13.
The Comets rallied to keep it close in the second set, but fell 21-19 in the first round of tournament play.
West Liberty regained momentum in their following matchup, as they held Burlington to nine points in the two-set sweep to advance in the tournament.
Williamsburg proved to be little more than a speedbump as the Comets won with a pair of 21-12 sets.
The Muskies entered the impromptu final having not dropped a match that day on their home court.
The Comets got the better of the Muskies in the opening set, grabbing a 21-15 victory in the opener before the match was equalized following a 21-19 second set.
In the first to 15 final set, the Comets were able to squeeze enough of a margin to take a 15-12 victory and leave the tournament with a 3-1 record and a tournament championship.
In the championship match, senior Maelyn Wainwright and junior Sophie Buysse tied for the team lead with 10 kills each, with junior Kaylee Pelzer’s seven not far behind.
Freshman Emma Yoder set these girls up for attacks with 20 assists. Junior Ava Morrison had nine while junior Gaby Morales had four.
Morales was the star of the show defensively with a game-high 28 digs. Pelzer (11) and Buysse (10) each had double-digits as well.
The rain before the rainbow
On Tuesday (Aug. 29), the Comets went into the hornets’ nest, matching up against Clear Creek Amana on their home court. The four-team event included the hosts, the Comets, Solon and fellow RVC rival West Branch.
The Comets ultimately fell in a sweep, 2-0, to the Clippers losing 25-15 and 25-19.
The second game of the night pitted the Comets against the Spartans. West Liberty again fell in a sweep (25-16, 25-18) and headed back to the bus looking to regroup Thursday as they hosted Tipton in conference play.
Regroup they did as Thursday the Tigers headed into West Liberty.
The Comets took a comfortable 25-18 victory in the first set, and squeaked out a close victory in the second 26-24.
West Liberty completed the sweep in the third set as they pulled away from the Tigers, putting a close on the night with a 25-18 victory.
The Comets were lifted by Morrison, notching 16 assists on the night and anchored in the backline by Morales, who posted 20 digs.
She dawns the libero jersey after watching her sisters lead the Comets in years past.
A nine-kill outing from Pelzer led the way for the Comets offensively followed closely by eight from Buysse.
The juniors took to the skies alongside Wainwright (eight kills) to put their stamps on the home victory.
The Comets will return to action Thursday in Wellman as they matchup against 3A No. 15 Mid-Prairie before heading to Williamsburg for more tournament action on Saturday, September 9.