Dike-New Hartford takes first step to possible showdown with Denver

CORALVILLE — It may not be a vintage Dike-New Hartford team of past years, but nothing has changed as far as expectations are concerned.

"The goal is still what the goal has always been," said senior Abby Jensen.

When you play in a program that has 16 state titles, that will always be the goal. This year's Wolverines squad is considered a long shot to win the Class 2A title. Fellow North Iowa Cedar League member and defending state champ Denver is again a prohibitive favorite.

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No. 2 Dike-New Hartford (39-9) would relish a chance to meet Denver in the final. Coach Diane Harms' team took its first step toward that goal on Tuesday with a hard-fought 25-9, 28-26, 25-21 over another conference rival, Aplington-Parkersburg, in a quarterfinal-round match at Xtream Arena.

Harms said meeting a league rival at state was both a plus and a minus.

"I saw the draw and thought, oh, we played them last year," she said. "And then I see how solid our conference is from top to bottom and I realize just how special it is that our conference has such great representation.

"On the other side, you have to play them and when you get down here, that makes it that much more challenging."

There wasn't much of a challenge in the first set as the Wolverines needed a little over 20 minutes to grab the lead.

"I think we were all just so excited to play here," Jensen said. "We all talked about how grateful we all were to still be playing at this point of the season. We were just enjoying it and trying to soak it up."

That all changed in the second set. The Falcons led 20-15 and had one set point before eventually falling 28-26

"I think they changed up their lineup a little bit from the last time we played them," Jensen said. "We expected them to come out a little hotter than last time. We expected to see something different.

We just all took a step back and stayed disciplined. We remembered what our responsibilities are, taking care of the first ball so everybody else could do their jobs."

That momentum carried over to the third set, where the Wolverines led by as many as nine points before finally closing out the match.

Jensen led Dike-NH with 17 kills. Keely Kauten added 12. Aubrey Asche was solid in the back row with 16 digs and two ace serves.

Zoey Uhlenhopp had 12 kills and Jenzen Klooster added 11 for the Falcons, who finished at 27-11.