Pella’s No. 7 volleyball team pulled off a remarkable comeback to claim their 4th straight trip to the state tournament in a 3-2 win over Clear Creek-Amana Monday night (18-25, 17-25, 25-20, 25-19, 15-9).

The Lady Dutch had to pull themselves out of a deep 2-0 hole, after tentative play allowed the talented Clippers to control the pace and flow of the match.

Senior Kennady Klein told KRLS Sports the turning point came between sets two and three in a players-only meeting.

“We had a huge pep talk in the locker room between sets, and just think that’s what got us going,” she says.

From there, Pella claimed early leads in the final three sets and dominated the final 75 points. Seniors Emily Holterhaus and Natalie Clayberg credited more cohesive play, a rowdy crowd, and a desire to keep their seasons going, as to what fed the large turnaround.

“We wanted to give the crowd something to cheer for, and they gave us energy,” Clayberg says.

“It was just a mindset thing, and playing with heart,” Holterhaus says. “I think in the first two sets there were a lot of balls that went down without our full effort, and it became of mindset of just getting to every ball.”

Holterhaus finished with 24 kills with eight blocks–six solo, Natalie Clayberg tallied 11 kills to just two errors, and Kalin Valster racked up four service aces.

Pella improves to 31-6 on the season, and will head to their 10th ever state tournament on Tuesday at 4 p.m., when they take on No. 2 Xavier at the U.S. Cellular Center in Cedar Rapids. Listen to interviews from the Pella Lady Dutch state qualifiers Wednesday night at 6 p.m. on the Radio Sports Page on KNIA/KRLS.