DNH still has Western's number

CEDAR RAPIDS -- They crossed paths in the interview room, and Tammi Veerbeek shook her head, smiled and embraced Diane Harms.

"Another great match," Veerbeek said."Yes, it was," Harms said.

That's all that was said. And all that needed to be.

Top-ranked Dike-New Hartford defeated No. 2 Western Christian in four sets (20-25, 25-22, 25-22, 25-20) for the Class 2A championship at the state volleyball tournament Friday afternoon at the U.S. Cellular Center.

"We knew they'd be after us. They'd want to beat us," said DNH senior Ashley Dumler. "We needed to play harder than them, and we did."

These teams have met in three straight 2A finals. The Wolverines have won them all -- via sweep in 2011, in a five-game thriller last year, and something in between Friday. All have been high-octane events.

Dike-New Hartford (45-1) extended its winning streak against Iowa competition to 99 matches, is ranked No. 4 nationally by prepvolleyball.com, and returns three Division-I commits (Briana Weber, Brooke Morgan and Rachel Koop) for a run at a fourth consecutive title in 2014.

"I feel bad for our girls, because I think we're one of the best teams in the state in any class," said Veerbeek, the coach at Western. "But we fall in the same class as Dike, which is an excellent team. This is the path that God chose for us, and the kids understand and respect that."

The moment of the match came late in the third game, after the teams split the first two. Western (45-3) held leads of 18-13 and 20-16, but couldn't close the door on the set.

Three straight kills by Lizzy Blough capped a five-point run for a 21-20 Wolverines lead. Western went back ahead, 22-21, but DNH had the final push. Two Western errors played a role, then Brooke Morgan's kill clinched the set.

"That was huge," Harms said. "We didn't lose focus, we kept playing hard and made things happen. It's a tribute to our focus to get back in it."

Game 4 was tied 12-12 before the Wolverines pulled away. A 6-1 run made it 18-13, the Wolverines pulled within two on two occasions, then a run of kills by Weber pushed Dike-New Hartford to the doorstep.A block by Dumler and Sadie Eden closed out the match.

"The last three games, they just grabbed it from us," said Haley Moss, Western's 6-foot-5 middle hitter.

Morgan led the victors with 16 kills, Weber added 15. Koop collected 42 assists.

Weber was the all-tournament captain, and was joined on the select team by Morgan and Koop, Western's Moss, Alissa Pollema and Jamie Gesink and Eddyville EBF's Karlie Taylor.

Western was the best team early. But the Wolverines recovered and adjusted.

"They were very good; we knew they would be," said DNH libero Sam Meyer. "It was going to be about who made fewer errors."

And that was the Wolverines. Western outkilled DNH, 56-54, but made 28 hitting errors, compared to 20 for the Wolverines.

Jade Schaap led Western with 14 kills. Moss and Ema Altena added 13 apiece, and Gesink had 43 assists.