The Gazette recaps Wednesday’s Iowa high school state volleyball tournament semifinal matches from Xtream Arena in Coralville, with scores, stats and links.

Class 5A state volleyball semifinals

No. 1 Pleasant Valley 3, No. 4 West Des Moines Dowling 0 (25-23, 25-19, 25-23)

Top-seeded Pleasant Valley (34-2) rebounded from an 18-9 hole in Game 3 to complete its Class 5A semifinal sweep.

Dowling (26-10) was on the verge of extending the game, seemingly shutting down everything in Game 3 en route to a commanding lead.

Isabelle Kremer got a couple of scores right after the Spartans’ second timeout and the rally was on.

Still, Dowling led 21-18 and 22-19 before the Spartans made a final, triumphant push.

Setter Carsyn Kelley managed to score her second score of the match to tie the game at 22-22. The Spartans took the final three points after an Ellie Muller kill put Dowling back in front.

Kremer led all attackers with 16 kills. Kelley had 30 assists; Olivia Hoskins posted 17 digs.

-Jeff Linder

» full story: Pleasant Valley’s spectacular third set comeback complete

» photo gallery | Final statistics | watch the replay

6 Waukee Northwest 3, No. 2 Ankeny Centennial 2 (25-21, 25-22, 16-25, 23-25, 18-16)

A kill from Piper Ladwig put Northwest within par in the fifth set. On the next point, freshman Avery Cordes put a beautiful shot behind the Centennial defense to seal the victory.

The win puts the defending 5A champions (28-9) back into the title game.

Wolves started strong by winning the first two sets, then saw their passes break down at times in the next two sets before they could do enough to take the lead.

“I am so proud of these girls,” Northwestern Coach Jodi Vogt said. “We knew it was going to be a challenge. They played to their fullest potential and that’s what you want at this time of year.”

Logan Vogt led the winners with 17 kills. Ladwig added 10 points. Jaeden Pratt and Delaney Miller led Centennial with 21 kills each, bringing the score to 32-5.

—Mike Condon

» full story: Waukee Northwest returns to 5A state championship game

» photo gallery | Final statistics | watch the replay

Class 4A state volleyball semifinals

No.5 Pella 3, No.12 Sergeant Bluff-Luton 0 (25-15, 25-14, 25-23)

Katie Scheckel is one of these combo players. A setter and a hitter. He scored the last two points, one as a setter and the other as an attacker.

Pella managed to get through the first two sets but lost 23-22 in the third set.

Brooke Schulte’s score brought the Dutch (41-7) to 23-23 and it was Scheckel’s turn.

His second tee shot found the floor and allowed Pella to reach match point.

“(Defense experts) were yelling that the door was open,” Scheckel said.

Scheckel got a kill from the right side to fix that.

The young player finished the match with 16 kills, 20 assists and 10 digs.

-Jeff Linder

» full story: Clutch plays from Katie Scheckel send Pella to 4A championship game

» photo gallery | Final statistics | watch the replay

No.2 Sioux City Heelan 3, No.3 North Scott 0 (25-23, 26-24, 25-21)

The Sioux City Heelan (43-3) rallied from a 9-0 hole in the third set to complete the sweep of North Scott.

“It was crazy,” Heelan junior spiker Ava Lloyd said of the third-set rally. “Obviously a start like that can lower your confidence a little bit. We knew we could come back and we just pushed and pushed and did it.”

North Scott, which finished 30-6, also had the opportunity to see the Crusaders prevail in each of the first two sets.

Lloyd led the Crusaders with 14 kills. Maliyah Hacker added 13 kills and 11 digs. McKenzie Moeller led the Lancers with 18 kills. Abbey Hayes had 12.

—Mike Condon

» full story: Heelan gains confidence in semi-final at North Scott

» photo gallery | watch the replay

Class 3A state volleyball semifinals

No.1 Mount Vernon 3, No.4 Dubuque Wahlert 0 (25-12, 25-19, 25-17)

top ranked Mount Vernon It was a simple surgical intervention, especially in the early stages of the match, and he defeated No. 4 Dubuque Wahlert.

The Mustangs batted a staggering .600 in the first set and couldn’t settle down much after that. They were so good.

“This is so crazy,” Mount Vernon Coach Maggie Willems said. “You’re not hitting .600 in the state tournament, are you? “Our ball control was very good.”

Sydney Maue, who is headed to Arkansas next year, led the Mustangs with 13 kills.

Mount Vernon’s final efficiency was a sparkling .420: 43 kills on 88 hits against six errors. The Mustangs didn’t make a single mistake in their first 29 attacks.

Meester added 11 kills, Paige Schurbon added six, Sophia Meester added five, and Cali Whitaker and Sydney Huber added four kills each.

-Jeff Linder

» Full story: Mount Vernon earns another shot at state title

» photo gallery | Final statistics | watch the replay

No. 2 Western Christian 3, No. 3 West Delaware 0 (25-21, 25-21, 25-14)

The best thing about playing soccer for West Christian Coach Tammi Veerbeek Western Delaware What happened in the Class 3A semifinal round of the state volleyball tournament had everything to do with geography and lack of familiarity.

“(Tuesday) was an emotional game because of where the two schools are,” he said of the Wolfpack situation. Epic five-set win over neighbor Sioux Center. “There was just a sense of calm today. It’s nothing against West Delaware, they’re a good team. But I could feel we were going to play really well today.”

Veerbeek’s feelings were spot on. No. 2 Western Christian (33-13) was in control on the bounce and earned another berth in the state championship game.

Western Christian will seek its third straight title.

No. 3 West Delaware (39-7) could never mount a consistent attack on Wednesday.

Scarlett Winterfeld was one of three Wolfpack players with double-digit kills. He scored 14 points, Sidney Bilek 12 and Morgan Kooiman 11 points. Hannah Cantwell led Western Delaware with nine kills.

—Mike Condon

» Full story: Western Christian keeps West Delaware out of rhythm in semifinals

» photo gallery | Final statistics | watch the replay

Class 2A state volleyball semifinals

No. 1 Denver 3, No. 4 Dike-New Hartford 0 (25-12, 25-19, 26-24)

Give Denver Coach Jamie Johnson an “A” for integrity.

“I think it’s a little more special,” Johnson said.

He couldn’t help but.

Dike-New Hartford had been involved with the Hurricanes and just about everyone else in the state for many years. Succeeding at this stage… yes, it’s a little more special.

“We were so excited to beat them,” junior Mylee Thurm said.

Grace Mullihan and Thurm were the difference in the middle. The duo combined for 17 kills, no offensive errors, and a .567 kill efficiency, as well as 7 1/2 blocks.

-Jeff Linder

» Full story: Denver steps out of Dike-New Hartford’s long shadow

» photo gallery | Final statistics | watch the replay

No. 2 Eddyville EBF 3, No. 3 Dyersville Beckman 1 (26-24, 19-25, 25-18, 25-19)

Dyersville Beckman were the unfortunate team on the other side of the net as Eddyville-Blakesburg-Fremont’s Molly Shafer turned in one of the best individual offensive performances in state tournament history.

The 6-foot-4 senior came home with a Class 2A tournament-record 41 kills.

“He’s as good as I’ve ever seen him,” Beckman Coach Todd Troutman said of Shafer. “I’ve seen a lot of them and he’s got all the shots. “I didn’t think we played badly at all, but we didn’t have an answer for him.”

—Mike Condon

» Full story: EBF’s Molly Shafer breaks 2A state volleyball record with 41 kills

» photo gallery | Final statistics | watch the replay

Class 1A state volleyball semifinals

No. 1 Ankeny Christian 3, No. 4 Oakland Riverside 0 (25-12, 25-21, 25-18)

Top-seeded Ankeny Christian, a two-time Class 1A state champion led by a big, small-school shortstop, swept No. 4 seed Oakland Riverside.

“It’s crazy to think it’s almost over,” dynamic senior setter Katie Quick said. “We hope to finish it the right way.”

Quick, a Drake University commit, recorded 13 kills and 25 assists. He leads the state in aces with 119 and has defended that title in each of the four years (he has served 482 winners in his career).

Katie had just one ace on Wednesday, but the Eagles had 12 aces. They escaped a 14-14 draw in the 2nd leg, then came back with a 15-14 score in the final.

-Jeff Linder

» Full story: Ankeny Christian is one step away from its third consecutive championship

» photo gallery | Final statistics | watch the replay

6 Conrad BCLUW 3, no. 7 Janesville 0 (25-17, 25-23, 25-19)

The Comets made their first appearance in the state tournament last year and lost in the semifinals. Now in 2024 they are taking it one step further.

Janesville closed the gap in all three sets, but BCLUW found the answer when needed.

“I felt like we kept our composure when things got tense,” BCLUW Coach Megan Yantis said. “That’s a quality this team has had all season.”

Grace Farnsworth led the Comets with 15 kills. Hayden Anderson led Janesville (25-17) with nine points.

—Mike Condon

» Full story: BCLUW advances to first state championship game

» photo gallery | Final statistics | watch the replay