West Delaware breaks through

CEDAR RAPIDS - The proverbial monkey has fled the back of Brett Mather and the West Delaware volleyball program.

The resume is complete.

Top-ranked West Delaware led each set from start to finish and swept No. 2 Harlan, 25-16, 25-15, 25-19 for the Class 4A state championship Friday afternoon at the U.S. Cellular Center.

'It feels even better than I imagined it would,” said setter Carlee Ketchum, the all-tournament captain. 'We've worked hard for four years, and we've finally reached our goal. It's an indescribable feeling.”

The Hawks (49-2) were making their sixth journey to the finals. The first five times (2003, 2004, 2006, 2010, 2014), they were denied.

Not this time. Not a chance.

'I'm extremely happy for all these girls, for everyone who has come through this program,” said Mather, who crossed the 700-win plateau in the quarterfinals Tuesday. 'The girls will have these moments in their memories for the rest of their lives, and that's what's rewarding.”

Mather was thrilled for his players. And vice versa.

'He finally has his title,” said Bridget Hoffmann. 'He's worked so hard for this. We all have worked so hard for this.”

West Delaware started the season ranked No. 1, and stayed there all fall. Its two losses were to Ankeny Centennial (the 5A champion) and 5A top-10 team Linn-Mar.

'Our goals were set high from the start,” said libero Mariah Kleitsch. 'We pushed and pushed all year and kept going.

'We dreamed of this every single day.”

The Hawks finshed with a 14-match winning streak; their final 11 victories were by sweep, including five in the postseason.

And though this was 1-vs.-2 and a rematch from last year (the Cyclones won a four-setter in 2014), there was very little drama, and very little doubt in the outcome.

West Delaware sprinted to the lead in each set. It was 5-1, 11-6 and 16-8 in the opener. It was 13-3 in the middle set. And it was 5-0, then 17-8 in the finale.

'(Ketchum) did a phenomenal job running that team,” said Harlan Coach Angie Spangenberg, whose team had won the previous two 4A titles. 'They ran tempo, extremely quick tempo, which was probably a step up from what we're used to. We were on defense most of all three sets.”

Ketchum, Hoffmann and Kleitsch represented the Hawks on the all-tournament team. They were joined by Taylor Frederick (who had a match-high 17 kills) and Jordyn Moser of Harlan, Grace Hanno of Sioux City Heelan and Emily Albertsen of Lewis Central.

Hoffmann collected 11 kills and posted a .556 efficiency. Kristen Wegmann added 10 kills, Haley Lyness nine. Ketchum had seven kills to go with 31 assists and 19 digs.

'We're just so versatile and so balanced,” Hoffmann said. 'We don't have a dominant player. We can just pass it around the court and find someone. It works for us.”

l Comments: (319) 368-8857; jeff.linder@thegazette.com