Waukee Northwest thrives on Indianola crowd at state volleyball tournament

CORALVILLE — Indianola had one big advantage coming into Monday's Class 5A state quarterfinal against No. 1 Waukee Northwest.

The Indian student section was over twice as large and twice as loud as Northwest's. There was a good reason for the smaller Wolves fan base. The school's football team has a playoff game on Friday night against Sioux City East. That didn't allow for any of the players to attend Monday's match.

The boisterous Indian crowd, however, ended up fueling the Wolves, who rolled to an impressive 25-17, 25-16, 25-12 victory at Xtream Arena.

Northwest (36-1) will play in the semifinals at 10 a.m. on Wednesday.

"Our team thrives off that kind of environment," said Northwest Coach Jodi Vogt. "They love the crowd bantering back and forth in a loud, noisy environment. I can guarantee you there will be more people here on Wednesday and Thursday."

Vogt's daughter Avery said the team knew they would have to create their own energy with a smaller crowd to support them.

"It's our team," said the senior setter who finished with 33 assists and nine digs. "We have been together and have had to motivate ourselves before. (Indianola's) fans were loud, but we just played our game.

“It was fun out there today."

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It didn't start out well for Northwest. Indianola showed no fear in the first set, jumping to a 13-7 lead.

"I think maybe we just expected them to just give that game to us," said junior Piper Ladwig, who was one of three Northwest players to finish with five blocks. "I think we realized we really had to put some effort into it. Once our team locked in, we just didn't stop."

After a timeout, the Wolves went on a 9-2 run to grab the lead and were never really in any danger the rest of the match.

"I wasn't really worried about the start because I know what our team brings," Avery Vogt said. "I was definitely a little shaken up at the beginning but we calmed down and played like we can."

Northwest won the title in 2023 but lost in the finals last year to Pleasant Valley. Coach Vogt believes the past experience will be a plus as her team moves along.

"The state tournament environment is like no other," she said. "Hopefully, that will be a plus for our players.“

Junior Leah Janulewicz led a balanced offense for the Wolves with 14 kills. Sophomore Avery Cordes added nine kills.

For Indianola, which finished at 27-17, Lauren Olson had seven kills.