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She was a junior when BCLUW volleyball's maiden trip to state ended last year with a semifinal loss to Ankeny Christian.

“We cried, we said goodbye to the seniors, and when we got home we said, 'It won't happen again,'” Crawford said. “That sucked. That feeling wasn’t good.”

What followed was a year full of small goals for the Comet volleyball team that led to one big goal.

The Comets made history Wednesday with a win over Janesville in the Class 1A semifinals at Xtream Arena in Coralville.

TR PHOTO BY JAKE RYDER – The BCLUW volleyball team rallies after defeating Iowa Star Conference rival Janesville in the Class 1A semifinals on Wednesday at Xtream Arena in Coralville.

BCLUW won 25-17, 25-23, 25-19 to advance to its first-ever state championship game – a rematch with Ankeny Christian, the two-time defending champion, on Thursday at 7 p.m.

“We thought we were going to get a big win last year, but it just wasn’t meant to be,” Crawford said. “But that was enough motivation for us to say that we wouldn’t settle for another semi-finalist trophy tonight.”

Grace Farnsworth had 15 kills with nine digs and Olivia Peters added eight kills for the Comets (33-10) and triumphed over fellow Iowa Star Conference member.

BCLUW never trailed in the first set, leading 15-12 and then pulling away with a 6-0 spurt that included two kills from Goldie Kaisand, a Farnsworth kill and three attack errors from Janesville.

The second set was much more competitive – Janesville led 11-7 early until a 4-0 Comet run made it 11-11; Janesville fell behind 16-14 and improved to an 18-16 lead with four points of its own.

TR PHOTO BY JAKE RYDER – BCLUW's Brinna Benson (above) watches intently as fellow defensive specialist Raegan Crawford makes a tackle during Wednesday's state semifinal volleyball game in Coralville. Crawford had 15 digs in the Comets' three-set win over Janesville.

A pivotal moment came at the 7:00 mark when Crawford nearly jumped onto the BCLUW bench to block an errant shot from a teammate – the save was successful, putting the ball back on the Janesville side where the Wildcats one fired off a long attack to make it 20-0. 19, forcing Janesville's final timeout of the set.

“There's a play almost every game where (Crawford) just gives us that spark,” BCLUW head coach Megan Yantis said. “She finds a way to make these plays and that just fires us up.”

Brinna Benson also made a diving attack after a tip at the net to give the Comets a rallying point, and Crawford had another impressive attack in the third set as everything began to fall into place for BCLUW.

“When I played in the city league, I had a coach who would line me up in the middle of the field, throw a ball to each corner and tell me to go get it,” Crawford said. “When I get back there, the only thought in my head is that the ball won't end up on the ground. It's like the game where you jump around the living room, holding a balloon above the floor and getting burned on the carpet. This mentality is fun for me and motivates me to get the next one.”

Farnsworth had back-to-back kills to secure the end of the second set, and along with sophomore Olivia Peters and the energetic twin centers of Goldie and Virginia Kaisand, Janesville wasn't often able to get into the system on Wednesday .

“When I see them swinging, I’m like, Wow, I’m lucky I’m not on the other side,” Crawford said. “They do that to us at practice, so tonight it's like, 'Wow, I'd hate to be them right now.'”

Ankeny Christian (39-5) has only lost one set to a 1A team this year – BCLUW took one from the Eagles at a Dunkerton tournament on Sept. 28, in a match that beat ACA 22-24 in three competitive sets won, 21-19, 15-12.

The Comets also took a set from ACA in the four-set semifinals last year.

“We know how to beat them this time, we know what we have to do to win the state championship,” Farnsworth said. “We just have to take advantage of the opportunities we have and trust each other.”

ACA edged Holy Trinity in the final last year and extended its title for 2022 with a five-set comeback against Gladbrook-Reinbeck. The Eagles defeated Don Bosco and Riverside to advance to the title game on Thursday.

Yantis said the key to winning Thursday was not to think too much about the moment.

“We know they will have great success,” Yantis said. “So we just have to stay consistent, keep our composure and keep playing Comet volleyball. But I couldn’t be prouder of these girls and how they’ve continued to grow.”

CLASS 1A

Quarterfinals

Tuesday, November 5th

Ankeny Christian defeated. Don Bosco, 25-18, 25-18, 25-22

Riverside def. North Tama, 18-25, 25-21, 23-25, 25-16, 15-11

Janesville defeated. St. Ansgar, 25-23, 27-25, 25-22

BCLUW Def. Catholic Holy Trinity, 25-22, 25-16, 25-19

Semifinals

Wednesday, November 6th

Ankeny Christian Academy def. Riverside, 25-12, 25-21, 25-18

BCLUW Def. Janesville, 25-17, 25-23, 25-19

championship

Thursday, November 7th

No. 1 Ankeny Christian Academy (39-5) vs. No. 6 BCLUW (33-10), 7 p.m