5A Recap, Reaction: Valley Takes Down Defending Champs

<!-- 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> Heading into the fifth set against the defending state champions, West Des Moines sought to muster up a killer mentality. That's what it would take for the Tigers to take down Pleasant Valley in the quarterfinals of the 2025 state tournament Monday here at Xtream Arena. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>"The whole time it was like, we want to shut these girls down. Balls to the wall. Do whatever you have to do to get the next point," senior setter [player_tooltip player_id='261075' first='Kaelyn' last='Wieland'] said.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>The Tigers opened up a 10-7 lead in the fifth set only to see PV tie it at 10 on a [player_tooltip player_id='261085' first='Maren' last='Ouellette'] kill. A pair of Spartan hitting errors put Valley up 12-10, though. [player_tooltip player_id='843934' first='Nia' last='Finn'] and [player_tooltip player_id='839207' first='Thia' last='Raridon'] followed with kills to set up match point.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>A couple of Ouellette kills trimmed the Valley lead to 14-13. However, [player_tooltip player_id='536274' first='Ryan' last='Connolly'] ended the run and the match with a kill for the resilient Tigers. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>The moment of being down 2-1 at the state tournament against the defending champs was not too big for Valley.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>"It's a lot. It can weigh on you," Raridon said of the pressure. "But our whole moto has been to stay positive and just play for each other. And I think that's what helped us have that endurance all the way up to the end. Even when they came back, we could just find a way to be smart and play those plays." </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Raridon's 14 kills were tied with [player_tooltip player_id='443086' first='Brynn' last='Cibula'] for the team high. Wieland and Connolly each delivered 10 kills. Connolly led the squad with 16 digs, while Cibula and [player_tooltip player_id='803061' first='Myla' last='Rude'] each had 14. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Pleasant Valley's [player_tooltip player_id='243182' first='Isabelle' last='Kremer'] led all players with 23 kills, while Ouellette and [player_tooltip player_id='555746' first='Clare' last='Yeggy'] each registered 11. [player_tooltip player_id='490015' first='Mazie' last='Sweers'] handed out 43 assists, 11 digs and four kills. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>"They had the momentum (in the fifth set), and we just weren't playing together," Kremer said. "We were sort of frantic and nervous. It was a lot of people's first time (at state). I think that they played harder and wanted it more at the end." </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><a href="https://ighsau.nyc3.digitaloceanspaces.com/25statevolleyball/5a$pdf.pdf">BOX SCORE</a></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:embed {"url":"https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SsNYTV3iCPI","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=SsNYTV3iCPI </div></figure> <!-- /wp:embed --> <!-- wp:embed {"url":"https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tw22iRhbZVc","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=tw22iRhbZVc </div></figure> <!-- /wp:embed -->