The Gazette’s recap of Wednesday’s Iowa high school volleyball state tournament semifinal matches at Xtream Arena in Coralville with scores, statistics and links for complete coverage.

Class 5A Volleyball State Semifinals

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

Top-ranked Pleasant Valley (34-2) rallied from an 18-9 hole in Game 3 to conclude a Class 5A semifinal sweep.

Dowling (26-10) nearly extended the game, blocking seemingly everything in Game 3 on its way to a seemingly commanding lead.

Isabelle Kremer had a pair of kills immediately after the Spartans’ second timeout, and the reaction began.

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

Point guard Carsyn Kelley had her second shot of the game to tie the score at 22-22. After Ellie Muller’s kill put Dowling back in front, the Spartans scored the final three points.

Kremer led all attackers with 16 kills. Kelley dished out 30 assists; Olivia Hoskins posted 17 comments.

—Jeff Linder

» full story: Great comeback in the third set finishes a sweep for Pleasant Valley

» Photo gallery | Final statistics | Watch replay

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

Piper Ladwig’s kill brought Northwest to match point in the fifth set. On the next point, freshman Avery Cordes launched a beautiful shot behind the Centennial defense to finish off the victory.

The victory returns the defending 5A champions (28-9) to the championship fight.

The Wolves started strong by winning the first two sets, then saw their passes fall apart at times in the next two sets before having enough to get the win.

“I’m so proud of these girls,” Northwest coach Jodi Vogt said. “We knew it was going to be an imminent battle. They played to their full potential and that’s what you want this time of year.”

Logan Vogt led the winners with 17 kills. Ladwig added 10. Jaeden Pratt and Delaney Miller each had 21 kills for Centennial, which closed at 32-5.

—Mike Condon

» full story: Waukee Northwest fights to return to 5A state championship

» Photo gallery | Final statistics | Watch replay

Class 4A Volleyball State Semifinals

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

Katie Scheckel is one of those combo players. A point guard and a hitter. She scored the last two points: one as a setter and the other as an attacker.

Pella cruised through the first two sets, but faced a 23-22 deficit in the third.

Brooke Schulte’s shot put the Dutch (41-7) tied at 23-23, then it was Scheckel’s “clutch” moment.

His kill on the second ball found the ground, taking Pella to match point.

“The (defensive specialists) were yelling that it was open,” Scheckel clarifies.

Scheckel followed up with a kill down the right side to finish it off.

The junior finished the game with 16 shots, 20 assists and 10 kills.

—Jeff Linder

» full story: Katie Scheckel’s key plays send Pella into contention for 4A title

» Photo gallery | Final statistics | Watch replay

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

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

“It was crazy,” Heelan junior hitter Ava Lloyd said of the third-set comeback. “Obviously, a start like that can knock your confidence down a little bit. “We knew we were capable of coming back and we just pushed and pushed and we did it.”

North Scott, which finishes 30-6, also had chances in each of the first two sets only to see the Crusaders prevail in both cases.

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

—Mike Condon

» full story: Heelan gains confidence after sweeping North Scott in the semifinals

» Photo gallery | Watch replay

Class 3A Volleyball State Semifinals

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

best ranked Mount Vernon He was simply surgical, particularly in the early stages of the match, and outplayed No. 4 Dubuque Wahlert.

The Mustangs hit a surprising .600 in the first set and didn’t let up much after that. They were that good.

“That’s crazy,” Mount Vernon coach Maggie Willems said. “You don’t hit .600 in the state tournament, right? 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 brilliant .420: 43 shots in 88 shots, against six errors. The Mustangs did not make a single error in their first 29 attacks.

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

—Jeff Linder

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

» Photo gallery | Final statistics | Watch replay

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

For Western Christian coach Tammi Veerbeek, the best thing about playing Western Delaware in the Class 3A semifinal round of the state volleyball tournament it was all about geography and unfamiliarity.

“(Tuesday) was an emotional game because of the placement of the two schools,” he said of the Wolfpack’s. Epic five-set victory over neighboring Sioux Center. “Today there was just a sense of calm. That’s nothing against West Delaware, they’re a good team. But I could feel that today we were going to play very well.”

Veerbeek’s sentiment was spot on. No. 2 Western Christian (33-13) was in control from the jump, earning another trip to a state championship game.

Western Christian will be looking for its third straight title.

No. 3 West Delaware (39-7) was never able to muster a consistent attack Wednesday.

Scarlett Winterfeld was one of three Wolfpack players with double-digit kill totals. She had 14, Sidney Bilek had 12 and Morgan Kooiman added 11. Hannah Cantwell led West Delaware with nine kills.

—Mike Condon

» Full story: Western Christian keeps West Delaware off pace in semifinal

» Photo gallery | Final statistics | Watch replay

Class 2A Volleyball State 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 honesty.

“I think this was a little more special,” Johnson said.

He couldn’t help but be.

Dike-New Hartford had taken care of Cyclones (and virtually everyone else in the state) for many, many years. Making your way in this scenario… yes, a little more special.

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

Grace Mullihan and Thurm made the difference in the middle. The duo combined for 17 kills, no attacking errors and a finishing efficiency of .567, along with 7 1/2 blocks.

—Jeff Linder

» Full story: Denver emerges from the long shadow of Dike-New Hartford

» Photo gallery | Final statistics | Watch replay

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

Dyersville Beckman was the unlucky 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 senior had a Class 2A tournament record with 41 kills.

“She’s as good as I’ve ever seen her,” Beckman coach Todd Troutman said of Shafer. “I have seen many of them and she has all the vaccines. “I didn’t think we played badly at all, but we just didn’t have an answer for her.”

—Mike Condon

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

» Photo gallery | Final statistics | Watch replay

Class 1A Volleyball State Semifinals

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

Led by its big small-school point guard, top-ranked Ankeny Christian, the two-time defending Class 1A state champion, swept No. 4 Oakland Riverside.

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

In a Drake University commitment, Quick recorded 13 kills and 25 assists. She is the state leader in aces with 119 and has held that title in each of her four years (she has had 482 career winners).

Katie only had one ace on Wednesday, but the Eagles had 12. They escaped a 14-14 tie in Game 2, then rallied from a 15-14 deficit late.

—Jeff Linder

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

» Photo gallery | Final statistics | Watch replay

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

The Comets made their state tournament debut last year, losing in the semifinals. Now they are going one step further in 2024.

Janesville closed the gap in all three sets, but BCLUW had the answer when it was needed.

“I felt like we stayed composed when things got tough,” BCLUW coach Megan Yantis said. “That’s been a quality of this team all season long.”

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

—Mike Condon

» Full story: BCLUW advances to first state championship game

» Photo gallery | Final statistics | Watch replay