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Pella Christian’s third consecutive trip to the State Volleyball Tournament came to an abrupt end last night, as top-seeded Mount Vernon downed the Lady Eagles three games to none. After the match, Pella Christian Head Coach John Evenhouse said the team was able to improve as the night wore on, but in the end, the Mustangs were too strong.
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“We thought we didn’t start the first game very well. We hit the ball in the block a number of times, we rushed it a little bit, we served the ball out of bounds; and they just got a big run on us at the beginning of the game,” said Evenhouse. “I thought the second and third game we were fighting; we were working out there and trying to get the ball to our setter and doing a pretty good job of that, but there was a lot of firepower out there.”

Mount Vernon won by scores of 25-7, 25-11, and 25-9. The Lady Eagles registered just 13 total kills against the Mustang’s strong blocking front, and served only 28 times on the night. Individual leaders for Pella Christian included Jenna Horstman, Meredith Fopma and Paige Zylstra with three kills apiece, while setter Bekah Posthuma recorded a team-high eight assists.

Defensively, though, it was a rough night for the Lady Eagles against the high-powered Mustangs offense, which featured four starters over six feet tall, three of which have committed to Division I college programs. Jasmin Schelhaas led the team with eight digs, but no Pella Christian player was credited with a block, as Mount Vernon slammed home an average of nearly 13 kills per game at a 48.6% success rate.

Mount Vernon improved to 41-1 overall this season and advances to the State Semifinals to play Wapsie Valley. For the Lady Eagles, it would be the final volleyball appearance for seniors Bekah Posthuma, Courtney Van Kooten, Darci Jansen, Courtney Kroeze, Leah Vander Schel and Jackie Veenstra. Pella Christian ends their season with an overall record of 23-15.
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