Lisbon found out last week it is going to have a Godzilla-sized obstacle in its postseason path.
The Lions were put in Class 2A Region 7, and to get to the state tournament in Coralville, Lisbon will likely need to upset No. 4 Denver.
“There are so many good teams in the Eastern part of the state in Class 2A, and it is almost impossible to separate all of them out,” Lisbon Coach Lance Kamaus said. “You are going to get a good matchup and you are going to have to play well in 2A volleyball. It is a gauntlet, to be sure.”
Lisbon opens at home with Jesup (17-16) on Wednesday, Oct. 18, but then likely would have a rematch with No. 13 Iowa City Regina (24-8), at Regina, in the semifinals, on Oct. 23. (Lisbon won the first battle 24-26, 25-21, 17-25, 26-24, 15-10, just a week ago.).
“We were happy to get one home match,” Kamaus said. “And if West Branch would upset Regina, maybe they’d change the venue and we’d get to host another.”
The regional final would be Oct. 25, likely against Denver (31-9), at a site to be determined.
Lisbon (23-5, 6-0) has been unranked in 2A all season. The IGHSAU ranks the Top 15, and in the Bound Power Rankings, Lisbon sits at No. 16.
“I thought once we beat Regina, that might change, but it didn’t,” Kamaus said. “Of our five losses, not one was a bad loss.”
But that’s all in the future. For now, the Lions can celebrate winning the Tri-Rivers East outright after topping Clinton Prince of Peace and North Cedar last week.
Lisbon beat Prince of Peace on Tuesday, Oct. 3, 25-12, 25-9, 25-12.
Ava Czarnecki had 17 kills, and hit at a .536 efficiency, and Mykala Luzum-Selmon added 13 kills, at a .632 efficiency. As a team, Lisbon hit .461 with just four attack errors.
Kaitlynn Hasselbusch had 34 assists, and Addy Happel led with 16 digs. The Lions had 18 ace serves, led by Luzum-Selmon with seven. But …
“We gave them 11 points with 11 missed serves,” Kamaus said. “You don’t want to hand people points like that.”
Then Thursday, Oct. 5, Lisbon beat North Cedar 25-22, 25-12, 18-25, 25-12.
Czarnecki had 29 kills and Luzum-Selmon had 17 kills. Hasselbusch had 47 assists and Happel led with 19 digs. The Lions had a .462 attack efficiency as a team, with only three errors over four sets.
Czarnecki, with her final kill in the first set, broke the school record of kills in a season, with her 399th kill. And also career kills, with the 1,077th kill of her career. She broke the records of Maysun Marshall (season) and Peyton Robinson (career).
Next up is the Tri-Rivers Tournament. It starts with pool play Thursday, Oct. 12.
Lisbon hosts Prince of Peace and Easton Valley, 5 p.m. The winners and runner-ups advance to the Tri-Rivers Tournament on Saturday at North Cedar.
“There is a list of six things we want to achieve, and we have checked one (Tri-Rivers East),” Kamaus said. “We next want to win our pool Thursday, and the tournament Saturday.”
Lisbon junior Kaitlynn Hasselbusch sets the ball as junior Sarah Dietsch prepares to attack against Midland on Thursday, Sept. 21, in Lisbon.