Chickasaws hope to build on loss

The experiences, at least in the eyes of New Hampton volleyball coach Jess Geerts, more than made up for the Chickasaws’ first loss of the season on Saturday.
New Hampton went 5-1 at the Charles City Invitational and showed it belonged among the state powers as it gave Janesville a battle before falling in three sets to Janesville, the top-ranked team in Class 1A. And New Hampton got a chance to play four “deciding” third sets.
“I don’t think that’s a bad thing at all,” said Geerts, whose Class 3A ninth-ranked Chickasaws are 25-1 heading into tonight’s [Tuesday] Northeast Iowa Conference showdown at Waverly-Shell Rock. “We played a ton of volleyball, and playing third games is just like playing fifth games in the playoffs. It’s do-or-die and having that experience is a good thing.”
New Hampton opened the tournament with sweeps of Wapsie Valley and South Tama and then opened its match against Tripoli, ranked fifth in 1A, with a solid 21-12 win. After dropping the second set 21-19, New Hampton rebounded with a 15-11 third-set win to set up what would be the de facto title match in the round-robin tournament.
For the full story, please see the Oct. 2 Tribune.