CEDAR RAPIDS - However, Chelsea Poppens wasn't about to let Aplington-Parkersburg be brushed aside.

Poppens rang up 30 kills, engineering a dramatic comeback from a 2-0 deficit in round one of the Class 2A state tournament, as the Falcons survived, 21-25, 17-25, 25-21, 25-20, 15-10.

"It's amazing. I don't even know how to explain it," said Poppens, a 6-foot-3 senior, reveling in the electric postgame atmosphere.

Aplington-Parkersburg (25-13) arrived in Cedar Rapids with the fewest wins of any 2A tournament participant. But Bradi Johnson's firey team refused to be extinguished.

"We've been in this position a lot this year," noted Johnson, in her first year leading the Falcons. "It's not comfortable, but I definitely have confidence in my girls."

The Falcons' energy level flat-lined in the night's second set.

"I was just thinking, 'We're gonna come back. This can't be our last game,'" Poppens recalled.

Poppens often sprang from the floor to punish the ball, producing a sound eerily reminiscent of gun fire. But Kuemper's star outside hitter, Amy Dentlinger (27 kills) always retaliated.

Finally, the Falcons gathered steam.

Johnson's club closed out the third and fourth sets with a pair of 5-1 scoring surges.

By the time Poppens produced a block in the middle in the finale, Aplington-Parkersburg owned an 8-1 advantage and was on its way to an improbable comeback triumph.

The Falcons received several stellar efforts on this night. Ashley Dohlman, for example, doled out a match-high 51 assists.

But Poppens truly left her mark. Her 30 kills were the most of any player in this year's tournament so far.

"Chelsea, being 6-3, with her athleticism and her vertical, that helps them move the ball around (opposing) girls that are 5-9 or 5-10," noted Kuemper coach Jeanne Spieler.

"She just takes over," Johnson said of Poppens, who recently signed to play basketball at Iowa State next season. "She wants it so bad. It's obvious that she wants to take this team as far as it can possibly go."

The Falcons' next destination is the state semifinals, against perrenial power Western Christian (45-4), which swept Unity Christian Thursday.

"We've been labled the so-called underdogs," said Johnson, "but we don't hold anything back."

Fifth-ranked Carroll Kuemper's volleyball squad entered Thursday with 31 sweeps this season.

Contact Kelly Beaton at (319) 291-1456 or kelly.beaton@wcfcourier.com