After 11-year drought, Dubuque Wahlert's back on top

CEDAR RAPIDS — It's far too early to call it the rebirth of a dynasty.

But this is clear: Mackenzie May is the best volleyball player in Iowa. And Dubuque Wahlert is the class of Class 4A.

May knocked down 21 kills, and second-ranked Wahlert captured the 4A championship with a 25-18, 25-16, 25-13 sweep of No. 1 Pella on Friday afternoon at the U.S. Cellular Center.

'There's a lot of pride right now; I'm extremely proud of this group,' said Coach Lindsey Beaves. 'To watch this group work as hard as it did, to overcome obstacles and end like this ... it's the best feeling.'

Wahlert (28-6) is a champion for the 18th time, but the first time since 2005. The Golden Eagles hadn't even qualified since 2011, but now they're indeed golden again.

'You never know how your team is going to come out and play,' said May, a UCLA recruit. 'We knew we had to take care of the basics.'

They took care of everything. This match was never in doubt.

Pella (38-5) rallied from an early six-point deficit to get even at 13-13 in the first set, but Wahlert scored the next six points to regain control.

'This is a group that has loved playing together, and what's why today is disappointing,' Pella Coach Catie Brand said. 'We didn't play at the level we wanted on the biggest stage.'

The Dutch entered Friday with a 29-match winning streak, but couldn't keep pace with May and the Golden Eagles.

'(May) is great, but they have a lot of other weapons too,' Brand said.

Jenna Gremmel collected 32 assists for the winners. Krystal Tranel accumulated 19 digs. Both of them joined May on the all-tournament team, with May earning captain honors.

Also on the team were Pella's Emily Holterhaus and Jenna Murphy, Cedar Rapids Xavier's Charlotte Richards and Sioux City Heelan's Mary Volz.

Holterhaus had 15 kills for the Dutch.

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