Mount Vernon rallies, wins the first outdoor high school volleyball match in Iowa history

MANCHESTER — One side of football bleachers wasn’t enough.

“A crowd like this is usually reserved for Friday-night football,” Iowa Girls High School Athletic Union executive director Erin Gerlich said. “To see this for our female athletes ... it was a fantastic showcase for the Iowa Girl.”

A crowd estimated at nearly 2,000 packed the west side of the stands at Brown Field — and trickled into the visitors’ bleachers — Tuesday night for the first outdoor high school volleyball match in state history.

It saw a near-upset turn into an improbable comeback: Class 3A top-ranked Mount Vernon surged past No. 9 West Delaware in five sets (21-25, 19-25, 25-23, 25-16, 15-9) in a Wamac Conference East Division thriller.

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Photos: Mount Vernon at West Delaware outdoor volleyball

“This was definitely everything we thought it would be,” Mount Vernon Coach Maggie Willems said. “It was five sets, just like it probably should have been.

“Thank God we were able to get both feet on the ground in the third set.”

Just in time. The Mustangs (15-2 overall, 2-0 division) appeared destined for their first loss this season against Iowa competition when they trailed 22-18 in Game 3.

“It was difficult at first,” Mount Vernon setter Sydney Huber said. “(West Delaware) played great. But we finally were able to get more comfortable.

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“I’m so grateful we could be a part of this. It’s great for volleyball, great for women’s sports in general.”

The close call didn’t diminish the night for West Delaware’s Hannah Cantwell.

“(Monday), we came in here and practiced,” she said. “My jaw dropped. Oh, gosh, it was amazing.

“It’s funny. I had a dream about this Saturday night. I heard the crowd yelling in my dream.”

So, who won?

“I don’t know,” Cantwell said. “I woke up.”

With all-around stars like Chloe Meester (a Louisville commit) and Sydney Maue (headed to Arkansas), Mount Vernon is loaded with talent.

But West Delaware (17-2, 1-1) was the Mustangs’ equal — and then some — for most of the first three sets.

“I think the moment got too big for us,” Willems said.

Once the Mustangs got their reprieve at the end of Game 3, the locomotive started speeding downhill.

“I was happy with 80 percent of the way we battled,” West Delaware Coach Brett Mather said. “But I think there’s still more out there for us.

“We gifted them a few points at the end of the third game, then they caught fire and unloaded.”

West Delaware athletics director Matt Weis began formulating the idea of an outdoor match last spring.

“When we got (artificial) turf (for Brown Field), I said to Brett, ‘Hey, what would you think of playing outside?’ I was kind of joking, and he laughed about it. I started making a few calls to see if we could make it work,” Weis said.

Sponsors helped. Delhi Lumber provided 165 sheets of plywood. Two furniture stores in Manchester hauled the court from storage in Xtream Arena in Coralville, and back.

“Everything kind of fell into place,” Weis said. “There weren’t really any hiccups.”

“West Delaware deserves a tremendous amount of credit, with all of the work they put in,” Willems said. “We just had to show up and play.”

Weather was perfect. Temperature at first serve (shortly after 7 p.m.) was 76 degrees with wind out of the southeast at 7 miles per hour.

With the assistance of fans for air circulation — and towel girls — the humidity was manageable.

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“It didn’t get too slippery,” said Meester, who knocked down 24 kills despite an ankle sprain suffered last week.

“(Monday), I didn’t feel the best. But I used some Icy Hot and some ibuprofen, all of that stuff. The adrenaline helped the pain go away.”

Cantwell was West Delaware’s leading attacker with 15 kills. She had a bandage on her chin after a spill, and suspected that stitches would be in order Wednesday.

As the teams warmed up pre-match, a flock of geese honked above the field.

Shortly after dusk, a full moon rose through the trees on the east side of the stadium.

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“Close to a perfect night,” Gerlich said. “There was so much positive energy, so much community support, and there was great volleyball on top of that.

“The kids that played tonight, they’ll never forget this.”

Mount Vernon 3, West Delaware 2

(21-25, 19-25, 25-23, 25-16, 15-9)

At Manchester

Serving: Mount Vernon 95-105 (.905), West Delaware 94-98 (.959)

Aces: Mount Vernon 9 (Mavrik Schweer 3), West Delaware 9 (Olivia Halverson 3)

Kills: Mount Vernon 61 (Chloe Meester 24), West Delaware 47 (Hannah Cantwell 15)

Assists: Mount Vernon 54 (Sydney Huber 49), West Delaware 35 (Natalie Mensen 20)

Blocks: Mount Vernon 8 (Meester, Sydney Maue 2), West Delaware 11 (Lauren LeClere 3)

Comments: jeff.linder@thegazette.com