Janesville Does It Again!
In the history of Iowa high school volleyball, only six teams have won at least four-straight state titles. Janesville became the newest member of that elite group Friday night (Nov. 9, 2018).
The Wildcats (46-5) claimed their fourth consecutive crown by sweeping Holy Trinity Catholic of Fort Madison in the Class 1A championship of the Girls State Volleyball Tournament. Set scores were 25-16, 25-14 and 25-22.
Janesville trailed only once in the first two sets, allowing the first point of the match. Alisa Bengen tied the score at 1-1 with a kill, then consecutive kills by Bree Thompson gave the Wildcats a lead they wouldn't relinquish until early in the third set.
Thompson ended the evening with a match-high 19 kills, while Bengen had 13. Lily Liekweg led Janesville with 28 digs and was one of five players who had more than 11.
All three players represented the Wildcats on the seven-member All-Tournament team. Thompson was named captain.
Prior to Friday, only Dubuque Wahlert (6), Dike (5), Tripoli (5), Western Christian (4) and Dike-New Hartford (4) could boast about the thrill of winning four-consecutive state titles or more. Now, Janesville can.
The second-place finish was the highest in program history for the Crusaders (37-4).