Dowling has more weapons, drops Indianola in a 4-set 5A state volleyball quarterfinal

CORALVILLE — Mary Beth Wiskus is a volleyball coach. And a teacher of mathematics.

So she knows her exponents, and put one to use in her team’s motto.

“We talk about our core values, and the girls chose ‘dominance,’ ‘confidence’ and ‘consistency,’” Wiskus said. “DC-squared. And you can’t put a team like that away with those core values.”

After feeding her teammates all match, setter Ella Rogers called her own number for the final point, and fourth-ranked West Des Moines Dowling topped No. 5 Indianola a four-set Class 5A quarterfinal at the state volleyball tournament Monday afternoon at Xtream Arena.

Set scores were 25-17, 17-25, 25-17 and 25-23.

“I’m super excited,” Rogers said. “This was a great team win. We were going to fight back after losing that (second) set.”

Making its 13th consecutive state appearance, Dowling (26-9) remains squarely in the running for its first championship. The Maroons advance to face No. 1 Pleasant Valley (33-2) in a 5A semifinal at 10 a.m. Wednesday.

“I hope this is the year we win it,” Rogers said.

The first three sets were fairly no-contests, with Dowling winning two.

The fourth was a dandy, with neither team leading by more than three points.

Indianola (38-7) had its last lead at 22-21, and Makenzie Sloan’s kill got the Indians even at 23-all.

Rogers connected with Kaylie Klein to get the Maroons to match point, then converted a dump set over the net to wrap it up.

“I just tried to figure out what their defense was going to do,” Rogers said. “It helps when I get active offensively.”

Speaking of active, Indianola’s Aspen Nelsen did more than a little of everything, posting 15 kills, 24 assists and 18 digs, leading the Indians in all three categories.

Recommended Reading

Photos: W.D.M. Dowling vs. Indianola in Class 5A state volleyball quarterfinals

“The girls used their block really well,” Wiskus said. “We were able to shut them down a couple of times when it really mattered.”

Dowling collected nine blocks.

Ellie Muller led the Maroons with 14 kills. Klein added 12, Ava Groeteke 11. Rogers added five kills (including the winner) to go with her 34 assists.

West Des Moines Dowling 3, Indianola 1

(25-17, 17-25, 25-17, 25-23)

Class 5A State Quarterfinal, at Coralville

Serving: Indianola 79-83 (.952), Dowling 81-91 (.890)

Aces: Indianola 3 (Camryn Overton 3), Dowling 3 (three with 1)

Kills: Indianola 48 (Aspen Nelsen 15), Dowling 47 (Ellie Muller 14)

Assists: Indianola 45 (Nelsen 24), Dowling 44 (Ella Rogers 34)

Blocks: Indianola 4 (Dana Blake 2), Dowling 9 (Muller 3)

Digs: Indianola 77 (Maci Lerseth 18), Dowling 61 (Annalise Grant 16)

Comments: jeff.linder@thegazette.com