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Heading outdoors: West Delaware will host Mount Vernon in a historic volleyball match
Sept. 17 battle will take place on a state-tournament court atop the turf at Brown Field
Aug. 19, 2024 9:56 am, Updated: Aug. 19, 2024 12:08 pm
MANCHESTER — There was Volleyball Day in Nebraska.
Then there was the basketball equivalent, Crossover at Kinnick.
No clever catchphrase has been coined for this version of outdoor volleyball.
It’s just two tradition-rich teams. It’s just Iowa high school history.
“I don’t think our kids grasp what an exciting opportunity this is,” West Delaware volleyball coach Brett Mather said.
West Delaware and Mount Vernon have agreed to move their Sept. 17 match outdoors, believed to be the first high school competition of its kind in Iowa.
The Wamac Conference East Division contest will be played at Brown Field in Manchester.
“With the momentum that we have in women’s and girls’ sports, it’s a really cool step forward in that narrative,” Mount Vernon Coach Maggie Willems said.
Nebraska and Omaha played a women’s college volleyball match in front of 90,000 fans last fall in Lincoln. Then Iowa played an exhibition women’s basketball game at Kinnick Stadium against DePaul last Oct. 15. That drew a crowd of more than 55,000.
The idea for an outdoor high school match started with West Delaware athletics director Matt Weis.
“It was 100-percent Weis,” Mather said. “He texted midsummer and said this would be really cool, and he just kind of ran with it.”
“I reached out to (Mather), and (Mount Vernon AD Matt Thede) got ahold of Maggie,” Weis said. “Once we knew they were all on board, we called (the Iowa Girls High School Athletic Union), and they were all about it.”
The players were a harder sell, at least at first.
“I told them about it (Saturday),” Willems said. “They were a little confused, then excited. To do something new ... they were intrigued.”
Mather said, “I don’t think they quite believed it.”
These are two storied programs, deserving of a spotlight like this.
Mount Vernon has played in 18 state tournaments, winning four championships. The Mustangs were Class 3A runners-up last year and have four all-staters on their roster this season, led by reigning 3A player of the year Chloe Meester.
They are the likely preseason No. 1 team in 3A.
“There’s nothing like bringing in the easiest team in the state,” Mather kidded.
Known for its floor defense and fast attack, West Delaware is a 14-time state qualifier with a pair of titles. All-stater Brooke Krogmann leads the Hawks into the 2024 season.
“We’ll be underdogs, but it’s an opportunity for us to see how we compete with an extremely talented team,” Mather said.
They’ll play on one of the state-tournament courts, currently in storage at Xtream Arena in Coralville.
Weis said that two Manchester furniture stores (Corcoran and Honey Creek) will transport the court from Coralville to Brown Field (home of West Delaware football), and back.
Delhi Lumber will supply the plywood that will lie between the turf and the court.
The freshman and junior varsity matches will be played next door, inside nearby Seedorff Gymnasium. The varsity match will move there in case of inclement weather.
“Obviously, moisture is a deal-breaker,” Willems said. “Here’s hoping for a dry night.”
Comments: jeff.linder@thegazette.com
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