2A Recap, Reaction: Denver Has Right Mindset in Victory

<!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong><em>Get 30% off your first billing cycle with code:&nbsp;howe30&nbsp;in the coupon code area</em></strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>CORALVILLE - </strong>Heavy is the head that wears the crown. It's what Denver is feeling as the prohibitive favorite to repeat as the state champions.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>To address that pressure, Cyclone coach Jamie Johnson reached out to old friend Bond Shymansky. The former Iowa coach has become a motivational speaker for volleyball teams.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>His message of staying in the moment resonated with Denver a day before it began state tournament play on Tuesday. It hit home with senior standout [player_tooltip player_id='389017' first='Bailey' last='Mullihan'].</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>"It's a lot of stress (being the favorite), but we have to be able to stay in the moment and not really worry about things from the past. We just have to perform with the abilities that we're capable of. He also talked about not thinking too much into the future and defending the championship," she said.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>"Stay in the moment. For a lot of us, it's our last year playing (in high school)." </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Setter [player_tooltip player_id='389012' first='Channing' last='Johnson'] also drew form Shymansky's talk. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>"We love hearing what he has to say and how (it) prepares us and just helps us get the mental side of our game right before we come down here and play these big games," she said.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>It worked. The Cyclones jumped on Wapsie Valley early and never let up during a 25-14, 25-11, 25-17, straight-set victory in the Class 2A state quarterfinals here at Xtream Arena.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>"There were a lot of aces (13)," Jamie Johnson sid. "I thought we defended well at the net. Maybe we didn't get as many blocks as we wanted, but we touched a lot. My back row can shine then. They'll track it down, and we can find a way to get another swing."</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>[player_tooltip player_id='389012' first='Channing' last='Johnson'] delivered seven ace serves to go with 28 assists, 11 digs, four kills and four blocks. Mullihan led the Cyclones with 11 kills and chipped in a pair of blocks. [player_tooltip player_id='755663' first='Adeana' last='Murch'] came up with nine kills, and Mylee Thurn had seven kills and six blocks. [player_tooltip player_id='739138' first='Mackenzie' last='McEwan'] was credited with 17 digs.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>[player_tooltip player_id='837986' first='Sawyer' last='Buhr'] and [player_tooltip player_id='389936' first='Taylor' last='Buhr'] had six kills apiece for Wapsie Valley. Tessa Brunscheon handed out 20 assists, and [player_tooltip player_id='776054' first='Espyn' last='Decker'] had 12 digs. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:embed {"url":"https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PQJtohYNh_Q","type":"video","providerNameSlug":"youtube","responsive":true,"className":"wp-embed-aspect-16-9 wp-has-aspect-ratio"} --> <figure class="wp-block-embed is-type-video is-provider-youtube wp-block-embed-youtube wp-embed-aspect-16-9 wp-has-aspect-ratio"><div class="wp-block-embed__wrapper"> https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PQJtohYNh_Q </div></figure> <!-- /wp:embed -->