Boyer Valley VB Rallies to Beat Woodbine in 5-Set Thriller

Boyer Valley's Sylvia Sullivan (9-23-25)

Boyer Valley VB Rallies to Beat Woodbine in 5-Set Thriller –

(9-23-25) – It was as tight a battle as it could get. Something expected out of the Hwy 30 North rivalry in the Rolling Valley.

Boyer Valley rallied from a 2-1 deficit to defeat Woodbine in a 5-set thriller, 24-26, 25-23, 22-25, 25-28, 15-13 in Dunlap Tuesday.

For the Bulldogs Sylvia Sullivan, who led her team with 22 kills, it’s something that is always expected when they face the Tigers.

“We knew coming into this match it was going to be a tough one,” Sullivan told KNOD Sports after the contest. “They always seem to play better against us and we just knew that we had to take care of our business and they were going to come out and do good, but we had to fight back and that's what we did.”

Sullivan felt the Bulldog passing game was better in the 2nd set as they helped her get into a rhythm.

“Our passing stepped up in the second set and I think that's a big thing. You got to be able to pass the ball to set the ball to hit the ball and so our passing took off and I was like, just give me the ball and I wanted to pound it.”

Morgan Hast had 16 kills for Boyer Valley. Sullivan loves the energy she brings to the court.

“She's a real fireball. I love having her on the team. She brings a lot of energy and she's nice because she can get us those points when the set's high and we can rely on her.”

Gwen Neilsen also picked up her 500th career kill in the victory for the Bulldogs.

Woodbine got 16 kills from Vanessa Blum and 15 from Isabell Crook in the loss.

It was the 59th time the two schools have met on the volleyball court since 2008, with Boyer Valley winning for the 42nd time. The Bulldogs are now 3-1 against the Tigers this season.

View past scores by visiting the Iowa High School Athletic Association's website, Iowa Girls High School Athletic Union website,
or Iowa Quik Stats