Mount Vernon triumphantly concludes its climb to the Class 3A summit with state volleyball championship

CORALVILLE — The crown isn’t coming off.

“I’ll probably wear it to bed,” Mount Vernon Coach Maggie Willems said.

Chloe Meester won’t follow suit.

“I’d probably break it in my sleep,” she said. “But I am wearing this (pink championship) T-shirt all night.”

Well earned, ladies.

Top-ranked Mount Vernon concluded a wire-to-wire season as Iowa’s premier Class 3A volleyball squad, validating it with the 3A state championship Thursday afternoon at Xtream Arena.

The Mustangs smothered No. 2 Western Christian, 25-17, 25-17, 25-18.

“We were lights out,” Willems said. “To sweep our way to a state title, it’s a testament to the level of play that we were able to sustain.”

Mount Vernon finished 45-4, taking the final step of a four-year climb. The Mustangs were 3A quarterfinalists in 2021, semifinalists in 2022, runners-up (to Western Christian) a year ago.

“For all of us seniors ... (libero) Eryn (Jackson) and I have played here all four years,” Meester said.

“We had always fallen short. This feels a lot better.”

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A University of Louisville recruit, Meester fittingly was the all-tournament captain after clocking 16 kills.

Arkansas commit Sydney Maue (14 kills) and Sydney Huber (38 assists) joined Meester on the all-tournament team, along with Western Christian’s Scarlett Winterfeld and Maggie Van Schepen, West Delaware’s Hannah Cantwell and Dubuque Wahlert’s Olivia Donovan.

“This is great, and it’s not just the physical aspect of winning,” Maue said. “It’s the community; it’s the atmosphere.”

Western Christian is a 19-time state champion, and was making its 23rd finals appearance in the last 24 years. No program statewide has a richer tradition.

But the Wolfpack (33-14) was no match for the Mustangs on this day.

“(Mount Vernon) is loaded with talent, Division-I talent, and their role players were really good,” Western Coach Tammi Veerbeek said. “They are explosive, they are powerful, and they were the better team today.

“I knew we could get some kills against them, but I didn’t know if we could slow them down.”

They couldn’t. Not for a prolonged stretch, anyway.

Mount Vernon attacked at a .542 rate in the first set, .406 in the second.

Only once all match did Western assemble a scoring string of three points, and that was with Mount Vernon in command of Game 2, 20-11.

The Wolfpack’s latest lead in any set was 6-5, in the opener.

“We don’t try to be perfect,” Willems said. “We try to be good enough. We were more than good enough today.”

It wasn’t just the headliners.

Paige Schurbon added five kills. Sophia Meester posted four. Cali Whitaker had three, plus the match-ending block.

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Jackson, who led the team in aces (three) and digs (17), became a second-generation state volleyball champion. Her mother, Amy Koering Jackson, won a 1A title at Lincoln Community in 1992.

Seven Mustangs depart as champions. So does octogenarian assistant Dolfi Kalm, who confirmed Thursday that this would be his final match with the program.

“I’m so glad we’re sending Dolfi out on top,” Willems said.

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Photos: Mount Vernon vs. Western Christian in Class 3A state volleyball championship

As for Western, five seniors return for 2025, and it’s pretty much a guarantee that the ‘Pack will be back, and perhaps back on top.

This year, though, the crowns and T-shirts and gold trophy ... it’s Mount Vernon year.

“We knew we had a chance,” Meester said. “We just had to have fun and go get it.”

The championship is Mount Vernon’s fifth (1984, 2009, 2010, 2019, 2024).

Mount Vernon 3, Western Christian 0

(25-17, 25-17, 25-18)

Class 3A State Final, at Coralville

Serving: Western 47-54 (.870), Mount Vernon 68-73 (.932)

Aces: Western 0, Mount Vernon 4 (Eryn Jackson 3)

Kills: Western 35 (Morgan Kooiman 11), Mount Vernon 46 (Chloe Meester 16)

Assists: Western 33 (Maggie Van Schepen 28), Mount Vernon 44 (Sydney Huber 38)

Blocks: Western 5 (Kooiman 2.5), Mount Vernon 6 (Cali Whitaker, Sophia Meester 1.5)

Digs: Western 42 (three with 8), Mount Vernon 49 (Jackson 15)

Comments: jeff.linder@thegazette.com