progress: SPORTS & EDUCATION
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CHARLES CITY PRESS | WWW.CHARLESCITYPRESS.COM | TUESDAY, MARCH 25, 2025
Comets were well- represented on final All-NEIC Volleyball Team
By John Burbridge sports@charlescitypress.com
When you reach the realm of the postseason, good pitching often trumps good hitting. And we’re not just talking about baseball and softball. The Charles City Comets were hitting the ball fairly well during the onset of the Class 4A-Region 1 volleyball cham- pionship match against No. 1-ranked Xavier. The upstart Comets were able to take a 6-2 lead in the fi rst game while making some of the home-court Saint fans a little antsy. But then Xavier’s resident ace stepped to the service line. “She has one of the best top- spins serves I’ve ever seen,” Charles City coach Sue Hoefer said of Saint senior Libby Fan- del, who unleashed a series of jump-serve offerings with the type of velocity and drop-off- the-end-of-the-table action that would make Hall of Fame pitch- er Bruce Sutter proud. Nine straight service points by Fandel put the Saints up 11- 6. The Comets were able to tie it (16-16) with a little run of their own, but Xavier was able win the fi rst set (25-22) and the next two (25-10, 25-12) to complete the sweep and advance to state. “WE WERE ABLE TO MAKE some adjustments later in the match, but it wasn’t enough,” said Hoefer, whose team fi nished with a 22-10 overall record. The Comets placed second in the fi nal Northeast Iowa Confer- ence slate with the league due to disband at the end of the current school year. Charles City was well rep- resented on the fi nal All-NEIC Volleyball Team with fi ve Com- ets being honored. First-teamers include senior outside hitter Mya Rimrod, who
Comet netters finish with a winning record Press photo by John Burbridge So fi a Alinea emerged as Charles City’s No. 2 singles player during her freshman season last year.
By John Burbridge sports@charlescitypress.com You may never know if you’re good at something if you don’t give it a try. When Charles City 2024 graduate Rylee DeBoest fi rst picked up a tennis racket, she was a high school sophomore. By the time she reached her senior year, she was the Comet girls tennis team’s No. 1 sin- gles player. Though she often went up against players who fi rst start- ed playing well before their teens, DeBoest managed to
secure several Comet wins at No. 1 singles … and even at No. 2 doubles while partner- ing with fellow senior Hannah Hoffman. Hoffman would later win her tennis match of her prep career at the Class 1A Girls Tennis Team Regional played at Lu- ther College where she defeat- ed Western Dubuque’s Baylee Neyen in straight-sets 6-4, 6-4 in the No. 3 singles match. It was the only regional win for the Comets as the Bobcats advanced after claiming their fi fth win of the dual – all other
ongoing matches from the slate of nine were stopped when the decisive fi fth win was achieved. Among the talented new- comers to the Comets last year was freshman So fi a Alinea, who played most of the season at No. 2 singles and sometimes No. 1 doubles. “All the girls improved and it was an excellent year,” Charles City head coach Brian Parrott said after his relatively young team with little experi- ence compiled a winning re- cord during the regular season.
Press photo by John Burbridge Charles City junior setter So fi a Parrott (No. 15) assists a kill by senior middle hitter Jadyn Van Horn during a road win over New Hampton this past season. The Comets fi nished the season at 22-10 after falling to No. 1-ranked Xavier in the Class 4A-Re- gion 1 championship match.
led the team in kills (244) and was second on the team in digs (241); junior setter So fi a Par- rott, who led the team in assists (714); and senior libero Anya Ruzicka, who led the team in digs (362) and co-led the team in service aces (30). Second-teamers include ju- nior middle hitter Evelyn May- hew, who led the team in blocks (41); and senior middle hitter Jadyn Van Horn, who had 175 kills and 39 blocks her fi nal sea-
son with the Comets. Van Horn was also named Academic All-State by the Iowa Girls’ Coaches Association. Criteria to attain such an un- common distinction include an ACT composite score of at least 27, a cumulative grade-point average of at least 3.75, and a class ranking in the top 10 to 15 percent – Van Horn is perched near the top if not at the top of Charles City’s pending 2025 graduating class.
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