Cedar Falls Earns Another Trip To State Semifinals

Cedar Falls earned a third-straight trip to the state semifinals and broke a school record in the process.

The Tigers opened the 2017 Iowa High School State Volleyball Tournament with a dominating 3-0 win over Urbandale in the Class 5A quarterfinals at the U.S. Cellular Center in Cedar Rapids Tuesday afternoon (Nov. 7). The win was the 41st for No. 1-ranked and top-seeded Cedar Falls, the most by the Tigers in a single season.

Cedar Falls took the first set, after trailing 13-12. Senior outside hitter Taylor Lynch led the comeback, recording four service aces during a game-closing 12-1 run that wrapped up a 25-13 victory.

The Tigers began the second set the way they ended the first -- with a dominating run. Cedar Falls jumped out to a 10-0 lead to start game two, with UNI recruit Tayah Mahi scoring every point for the Tigers during the stretch.

Cedar Falls recorded a 25-13 win in the second set, then completed the sweep with a 25-15 win in game three.

Urbandale (24-14) became the latest among many opponents to be swept by the Tigers (41-2) this season. Their only loses were a pair of matches to perennial Class 2A power Dike-New Hartford, which is in the tournament field. Other than those setbacks, Cedar Falls has lost only seven other sets.

The Tigers now move on to the semifinals for the third consecutive year. They'll next play at 10 a.m. on Thursday (Nov. 9).