Tripoli’s Season Ends In Heartache At State [PHOTOS]

Heartbreak is as much a part of the state tournament as winning a championship is. Tripoli felt that pain Wednesday night (Nov. 8, 2017).

LeMars Gehlen Catholic inflicted the hurt on the Panthers in the Class 1A quarterfinals of the Iowa High School Girls State Volleyball Tournament by rallying from 2-0 deficit to pull out a dramatic five-set victory. Game scores were 18-25, 25-27, 25-14, 25-12 and 15-10.

Tripoli showed its determination early, jumping out to a 13-1 advantage in the first set. Zoe Semelroth, the Panthers' sophomore middle hitter, recorded five aces during the run. She finished the night with 36 attacks, 15 kills and five digs.

The lead, however, did not last. The Jays responded with a 14-1 run that deadlocked the score, but Tripoli secured the opening set victory with an 11-4 push the rest of the way.

The Panthers also captured the second set, but had to go overtime to do it. Soon after, the momentum turned in Gehlen's favor. The Jays broke a 10-all tie in the third set and avoided the sweep with a 15-4 run.

Drewis Kennedy ended the match with 55 attacks, 21 kills and seven digs for Tripoli. Brianna Lobeck had 21 attacks and 15 kills for the Panthers. Samara Harms recorded a team-high 19 digs.