Western: A first-round 'statement'

CEDAR RAPIDS -- Victory was not enough. A sweep was inadequate."We wanted to make a statement," Western Christian Coach Tammi Veerbeek said. "We wanted to show that we're here to win a state championship."Yeah, this is one hungry Wolfpack.Second-ranked Western needed a skimpy 52 minutes to dismantle No. 7 Treynor, 25-15, 25-13, 25-8 in a Class 2A quarterfinal at the state volleyball tournament Thursday afternoon at the Cedar Rapids Ice Arena.The Wolfpack (42-3) wasn't about to coast. Not after losing in the state finals here last year to Dike-New Hartford, this year's No. 1 team. A rematch is likely in Saturday's final, and everybody knows it.Veerbeek made the long trip from Hull to a tournament in Cedar Falls on an idle Saturday to scout the Wolverines. And her team's teeth were sharp Thursday."The first game, we held them to 15 points. I told them in the hallway (between games) I wanted less than 15 in the second game," Veerbeek said. "Then, after the second game, I told them, 'Single digits (in the third).' "Six-foot-6 middle hitter Haley Moss was destructive to the Cardinals (31-7), pounding 12 kills (against one error) in 15 attacks for an eye-popping .733 kill efficiency."We tried to put together some runs," Moss said. "We wanted to push for points and side out right away."Brooke Wolterstorff, one of the state's best all-around athletes, added 10 kills. Jade Schaap had eight.Western held a modest 17-13 lead in the first set before closing with an 8-2 spree. It added a 10-point run in the second set to erase an early 2-0 deficit, then motored away from the start in Game 3.The Wolfpack finished with 12 aces, five from Summer Jansen."We kind of served them off the court," Veerbeek said.