Humboldt bows out in semifinals
This time, top-ranked Western Christian gets past Wildcats
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CORALVILLE – The rubber match went to mighty Western Christian, but upstart Humboldt did not go down without a fight.
The Wildcats were unable to pull off a second straight upset of the top-seeded Wolfpack here on Wednesday, bowing out in the Class 3A state volleyball tournament semifinals in four sets.
Scores were 25-15, 25-19, 20-25 and 25-22.
With the win, Western Christian (40-5 overall) advances to play for its 20th state title in the past 26 seasons back here on Thursday vs. Cherokee (32-8). The Braves upset No. 2 seed MOC-Floyd Valley with a sweep.
Humboldt (39-5) had stunned the Wolfpack last year in the final four, advancing to its first-ever state championship game. The foes also met in the 2024 regional finals, with Western Christian prevailing to punch a state ticket.
Adelynn Goodell led the way for the Wildcats on Wednesday with 17 kills. Addie Waldorf tallied 39 assists, five kills and eight digs.
Goodell had three blocks and Waldorf – a University of Northern Iowa commit – added two.
Brayleigh Ansgstrom finished with nine kills, Jazzie Dodd contributed eight kills with 11 digs, and Callie Olsen recorded seven kills. Gracie Johnson and Ryah Cirks each had 14 digs, as Goodell and Waldorf recorded four of the seven serving aces for Humboldt.
"I'm super proud of the girls," HHS head coach Kara Waldorf said. "The fight that they showed was incredible. That Western Christian team just has so many weapons, and we played right with them."
Morgan Kooiman paced Western Christian with 24 kills and 10 digs, Josie Hall tallied 20 kills and 11 digs, and Hadley Dekkers had 58 assists. Breslyn Kooiman finished with 29 digs and Maddyn De Jager had 12 kills and 12 digs.
Western Christian controlled the momentum from the start, as Kooiman and Hall each recorded five kills in the opening set. Goodell and Dodd both accounted for three each to pace Humboldt early.
In the second game, the Wolfpack raced out to an eight-point lead. The Wildcats cut it down to three late before Western Christian tallied four of the final five to go up 2-0.
Humboldt dominated the third set, as Goodell started things off with three kills to give them a 7-3 advantage. The Wildcats fought off each rally, taking that confidence over into the fourth game by splitting the first 20 points.
Western Christian would use small scoring runs to take it and close the door on another memorable season for Humboldt.
"It's hard to lose, but I'm glad that we lost fighting," Waldorf said. "We didn't just kind of give it to them."
The Wildcats won their third consecutive outright North Central Conference title this fall, also sharing it four years ago with Algona. They set a new single-season program record for wins, surpassing the previous mark of 34 set in 2016.
Humboldt has won 72 of its last 84 matches overall. They are slated to still return starters Goodell, Waldorf, Dodd, Angstrom, Cirks, Olsen, Kaleigh Vinsand and Mollie Emick.
Seniors Johnson, Hayden Smith, Zoey Montag and Jerzie Wempen are set to graduate.
Earlier this year, Wolfpack head coach Tammi Veerbeek became the state's career wins leader, surpassing EaVon Woodin's previous mark, as she now sits at 1,231. Woodin coached at Pocahontas and Waverly-Shell Rock, winning 1,227 matches.
Veerbeek has led Western Christian to 26 consecutive state semifinal appearances and 19 state titles since taking over in 1999.
Western Christian would tie Dubuque Wahlert for the most state titles all-time with a victory over Cherokee, which is now competing for its first state volleyball title. The Braves (32-8) were the preseason No. 1 team in 3A.
Cherokee received seven kills, 19 assists, three aces and three blocks from Addy Wolfswinkel in its win over MOC-Floyd Valley. Ellana Mortenson added 11 kills and Emma Ohlendorf finished with seven.
For MOC-Floyd Valley, Deviryn McCarty tallied 13 kills, Lily Vander Pol finished with nine and Brielle Hoegh had eight.