Western Christian sweeps Mount Vernon, reaches its 25th straight semifinal

CORALVILLE — Put this tradition into words, and ...

“It’s crazy when you say it,” Western Christian volleyball coach Tammi Veerbeek said.

Speak it, write it, whatever, and it’s astonishing.

Western is in the state semifinals for the 25th consecutive year.

The top-ranked Wolfpack avenged their 2024 state-title match defeat to Mount Vernon, sweeping the No. 9 Mustangs in a 63-minute Class 3A quarterfinal (25-12, 25-20, 25-16) Tuesday morning at Xtream Arena.

“We definitely wanted to come in with a little edge,” Western setter Maggie Van Schepen said. “We wanted to take it to them.”

As we do at this stage of the tournament every year, let’s run down these — in Veerbeek’s words — “crazy” numbers.

Twenty-five consecutive semifinals, that’s just the start of it. If the Wolfpack (38-9) beats its next opponent — they will face No. 5 Humboldt (32-6) at 2 p.m. Wednesday — that will be their 23rd trip to the finals in that span.

And if Western goes all the way? That would be its 20th title, its 15th in this quarter-century of glory.

  Buy Photo

Mount Vernon Coach Maggie Willems is betting on it.

“With their height, their athleticism, it’s going to be hard for anybody to take a set off of them,” she said.

Mount Vernon (23-16) had its moments Tuesday. The Mustangs played loose throughout and forced a Western timeout two-thirds of the way through the second set on their way to a 17-16 lead.

“That was the main thing,” libero Mavrik Schweer said. “We wanted to play loose and have fun.”

Added Cali Whitaker: “We wanted to play every point like it was 24-24.”

But Western’s surges were longer and more plentiful. Morgan Kooiman smoked 13 kills, Scarlett Winterfeld added 12 and the Wolfpack out-killed Mount Vernon 45-23 and posted a lofty .380 kill efficiency.

“We’re not afraid to hit,” Winterfeld said. “We will swing at any ball.”

Hayden Gookin had a solid match for the Mustangs with a team-high six kills (and no errors) in 16 swings.

“She had herself a match,” Willems said.

Last year’s 3A champion, Mount Vernon was making its eighth consecutive appearance and its 16th in the last 18 years.

“Our goal was to play Mount Vernon volleyball, to play within ourselves,” Willems said. “This was a testament to the process. We climbed the rough side of the mountain to get here, but the kids hung in there.”

Comments: jeff.linder@thegazette.com