Defense returns, and so does dominance for 3A No. 1 Mount Vernon

MARION — They got the message. Then they sent one of their own.

The Mount Vernon Mustangs played the part of an elite volleyball team, sweeping their way to the Wamac Conference tournament Thursday night at Marion High School.

“It as full gas, pedal to the metal,” Sydney Maue said.

That dominance came a mere five days after the Mustangs (39-4) showed a touch of vulnerability; they lost to Dike-New Hartford in the semifinals of the Westside Invitational on Saturday at Cedar Rapids Jefferson.

“The gift of Saturday is that we had a gut check, and we responded well to it,” Mount Vernon Coach Maggie Willems said. “Our defensive pursuit had to get better, and the kids bought into that.

“Our defense was the difference today.”

Both on the floor and above the net, the Class 3A top-ranked Mustangs were a force when opponents attacked.

“We knew, coming into practice Tuesday, that it wasn’t going to be easy,” Chloe Meester said. “We were going to get pushed, and we did. We did a lot of ball-pursuit drills, and they really helped.”

Mount Vernon handled 3A No. 11 Solon in the quarterfinals, then Center Point-Urbana in the semifinals.

Exactly a month after rallying past West Delaware in the first outdoor match in state history, the Mustangs won emphatically this time, 25-19, 25-13.

“Sweeping all three matches today, in a tournament as hard as this one, it’s hard to do,” Meester said. “Usually we get stuck in some rotations, but we didn’t tonight. We found ways to get out of them.”

Ranked No. 3 in 3A, West Delaware (35-6) came into the title bout after outlasting 4A No. 4 Clear Creek Amana in the semifinals, 16-25, 25-15, 15-11.

“That was a great semifinal victory for us,” Hawks Coach Brett Mather said. “We responded well from a butt-kicking in the first set.

“(Against Mount Vernon), we gave up too many runs. We were out of system too often. You can’t hit a negative percentage against a great opponent like that and expect to come close to being successful.”

Maue led the Mustangs with seven kills. Meester added five, Paige Schurbon four.

Lauren LeClere had seven of West Delaware’s 13 kills.

Wamac Conference tournament

At Marion High School

FIRST ROUND

Solon def. South Tama, 25-15, 25-13

Center Point-Urbana def. Vinton-Shellsburg, 25-10, 26-24

Independence def. Williamsburg, 25-16, 25-11

Marion def. Benton Community, 25-16, 25-9

QUARTERFINALS

Mount Vernon def. Solon, 25-13, 27-25

Center Point-Urbana def. Grinnell, 23-25, 25-23, 15-12

West Delaware def. Independence, 25-15, 25-6

Clear Creek Amana def. Marion, 25-22, 25-23

CONSOLATION

South Tama def. Vinton-Shellsburg, 25-21, 25-22

Solon def. Grinnell, 25-15, 25-20

Marion def. Independence, 26-24, 25-17

Benton Community def. Williamsburg, 25-21, 25-13

SEMIFINALS

Mount Vernon def. Center Point-Urbana, 25-19, 25-17

West Delaware def. Clear Creek Amana, 16-25, 25-15, 15-11

CHAMPIONSHIP

Mount Vernon def. West Delaware, 25-19, 25-13

Comments: jeff.linder@thegazette.com