IOWA CLASS 5A STATE VOLLEYBALL: Spartans secure another title
CORALVILLE – A great start and an even better finish carried the Pleasant Valley Spartans to their second Class 5A state volleyball title in the last four years.
PV opened Thursday's 5A title match at Xtream Arena against Waukee Northwest with the first five points.
The Spartans then closed the contest by scoring 14 of the final 16 points in Set 4 to cap the 25-20, 24-26, 25-22, 25-16 victory over the 2023 state champion Wolves.
"I'm so excited," said senior libero Abbie Staats, who was named the Iowa Pork Producers Producer of the Game. "This is my senior year and I couldn't have asked for a better outcome or people to play with."
Staats earned those game honors after logging 23 digs, 19 serve receptions, 5 assists and 2 aces. Junior outside hitter Isabelle Kremer was named captain of the all-tournament team that included Spartan senior Gabriella Ragins.
Ragins saved her best for last, recording the final two points – smacking a kill and then blocking a shot to ignite the on-court celebration as the Spartans secured their pink championship T-shirts.
"This is completely surreal," said Ragins, who finished with 11 kills, one solo block and six block assists. "We've been working for this for so long and invested so much to get to this point.
"I'm absolutely elated."
Kremer admitted that this task has been a year in the making – since last year's semifinal defeat.
"Coach (Amber) Hall was like, 'hey everybody, the state championship is Nov. 7th next year,'" said Kremer with a smile. "We all looked at her and laughed. That's over a year."
"We've set this goal back in August," said Hall, "and were talking about it literally a year ago hoping and working toward having this opportunity to make it to the state championship.
"This is a dream come true. All their hard work and dedication paid off."
That trek reached the ultimate payout on Thursday as the Spartans finished the season with a sparkling 35-2 record, including a season-ending 28-match winning streak. They dropped just the one set in three matches at the state gathering and just four sets in the 28-match streak.
PV also did it by showing its depth. Already without sophomore standout Mazie Sweers because of a sprained ankle that occurred last weekend, the Spartans altered their lineup on Thursday getting more work out of junior Hanley Schmidt (1 kill, 2 aces, 4 shared blocks), senior Hailey Asselin (5 kills, 4 digs, 1 split block) and sophomore defensive specialist Addison Allaman (17 digs and 14 serve receives).
"We just wanted to go with the lineup that we thought gave us the best matchups," said Hall.
When it counted, the usual suspects came through for the Spartans in the clutch.
Kremer finished with a match-high 24 kills to go with 4 aces and 4 digs. Senior middle Stella Smith added 3 digs and 6 kills as did Carsyn Kelly, who finished with 29 assists and 10 digs.
In a key closing run, Smith and Ragins stepped up to help the Spartans take control for the final time.
"Our girls at the net put up huge blocks," said Kremer. "They were so aggressive on every ball. ... If we get going, it's going to be hard to stop us."
It was at that point in the match.
However, it was a totally different story early on when the young Wolves – playing just one junior and no seniors – battled back in that opening set after Schmidt served up the first five points of the match.
PV maintained at least a four-point lead throughout that set, but the tone was established right up until Kremer's kill closed out the set.
Northwest was, at times, its own worst enemy. Eight PV points came off Wolves miscues in the first set alone. They cut that to five when they won the second set and established a nice wall at the net that became telling in the match.
"We just made too many mistakes," said Northwest coach Jodi Vogt, whose daughters Logan and Avery were forces. Logan, a sophomore outside hitter, finished with 21 kills and 9 digs. Avery, a junior setter, dished out 37 assists and dug up seven shots.
In that fourth set, Kremer got the help she needed to score some points. The front row, which had been key to the Spartans sweeping their way into the title tilt, was not as productive on Thursday and led to a tight match that featured 28 ties and 13 lead changes.
"I just felt the girls were really dialed in," said Hall. "The opportunity to really take that last step was right there for them and they were hungry for it and trusted their training and what they prepared the last year for."
The ebb and flow of a great match took a decided turn late in the fourth set.
Trailing 14-11, the Spartans opened their final run on Kremer's final service rotation. Smith alternated kills with Kremer aces to give PV a 15-14 lead.
After Waukee Northwest tied it at 15 with more dynamic front-row play and a shared roof, two Wolves attack errors gave the Spartans the lead for good.
On Smith's final serve rotation, she rattled off five points as Ragins and Asselin scored from the front row and a Northwest passing miscue resulted in a 21-15 advantage.
When PV went up 24-16, it marked the largest lead either team had in the competitive match.
Between the Northwest block and its court coverage, easy points were few and far between for the winners in the first three sets.
PV was on the verge of winning the second set, leading 24-22, before the Wolves stepped up with the final four points that closed with two roofs and a PV attack error in a scramble.
Showing plenty of resolve, PV bounced back in that third set, shaking off a slow start.
Trailing 17-15, PV went on a four-point run on Asselin's serve that she earned with a kill.
Leading 19-18, Schmidt then served up four straight points before Northwest answered to cut the margin to 24-22.
Kremer then closed that set with a kill off the Wolves' block.
"We're here and we're wearing these pink shirts," said Kremer, flashing yet another smile. "It's pretty awesome."
Pleasant Valley def. Waukee Northwest 25-20, 24-26, 25-22, 25-16
Kills – PV (53): Isabelle Kremer 24, Gabriella Ragins 11, Stella Smith 6, Carsyn Kelley 6, Haley Asselin 5; WN (49): Logan Vogt 21, Piper Ladwig 10, Avery Cordes 8, Leah Januiewicz 4, Cassidy Danburg 4.
Blocks – PV (1/12): Ragins 1/6, Hanley Schmidt 0/4, Asselin 0/1, Kelley 0/1; WN (7/3): Ladwig 3/0, Cordes 2/1, Logan Vogt 1/1, Danburg 1/1.
Assists – PV (47): Kelley 29, Lauren Brohm 11, Abbie Staats 5; WN (46): Avery Vogt 37, Januiewicz 4.
Digs – PV (70): Staats 23, Addison Allaman 17, Kelley 10, Olivia Hoskins 6, Kremer 4, Asselin 4, Smith 3, Schmidt 2; WN (57): London Taylor 17, Januiewicz 14, Logan Vogt 9, Anna Pelds 8, Avery Vogt 7.
Aces – PV (8): Kremer 4, Staats 2, Schmidt 2; WN (4): Januiewicz, Taylor, Pelds, Logan Vogt.
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