The 39-3 Riverside Bulldogs Volleyball had a five set duel on Tuesday night in the 1A State Quarterfinals against the North Tama Redhawks which ended in a nail biting win for Riverside. A win that saw 13 total tied scores and 9 lead changes. The match went back and forth for Riverside with scores of 18-25, 25-21, 23-25, 25-16, and 15-11.

North Tama won the first set after multiple ties as neither side seemed to gain momentum. The Redhawks finally pushed themselves midway through the set going on a 6-0 run to be 15-11 and never looking back.

Set two saw a resurgence from Riverside even though the Bulldogs were down for most of the set. Riverside seemed more focus in the second continually fighting for digs and finding the right timing on their blocks to eventually start a comeback being down 16-20.

The third set had the Bulldogs best start as it seemed they could do no wrong, quickly going up 7-2, then 14-5, and 17-7. It seemed then that Riverside would easily take the third set and force North Tama into a corner on set number four. That would not be the case as the Red Hawks leaned on junior Kruiz Ewoldt and she delivered with kill after kill. Suddenly the set was tied at 20-20 and North Tama would end up taking it.

Down two sets to one, Riverside could feel the next pressure of their set knowing if they lost it here, that their tournament run would immediately end. The Bulldogs came out to start the fourth set calm and with the help of junior Bentley Rone’s sets, the points continued to pour in. In the blink of an eye, it was tied 2-2 and the match would head into a fifth set.

Set number five had both student sections on their feet and spectators excited. Riverside looked to their dependable core for one more gritty set and they delivered with an overwhelming amount of blocks at the net. The match would end with a senior Elly Henderson serve to send the Bulldogs on to the state tournament semifinals for the first time in program history.

Riverside was led by a phenomenal night from senior Sophia Taylor who finished with 17 kills and 40 total attacks. Rone also contributed with 22 assists and 2 service aces. One noted that playing on this year’s team has been a unique experience.

When heading into the fifth set, tied at 2-2, Rone was confident in her teammates.

Henderson was another athlete for Riverside added 12 kills and 13 digs when her team needed her the most. For her in the fifth set, she felt calm knowing her team was on their way to a win.

Henderson knows how special this tournament appearance is and doesn’t plan on taking it for granted.

Riverside head coach Brooke Flathers had nothing but pride in the way her team fought throughout the entire match.

Tonight the Bulldogs will get a rematch with the number one seed Ankeny Christian. An opponent that knocked off Riverside a year ago in the regional championship. Coach Father’s is confident in her team’s ability as long as they play the Bulldog way.

KJAN will have the coverage for Riverside’s semifinal match against the Eagles with the pregame beginning at 5:45 p.m.