It was advantage Dutch in a top five volleyball showdown in Grimes on Tuesday, with #3 in 4A Pella defeating #4 Dallas Center-Grimes in a 3-1 victory (25-19, 17-25, 25-21, 25-23).
The Dutch came out of the gates strong, putting distance between them and the Mustangs in the first set, but never found their footing in the second as the home team pulled away. Pella fell behind 6-0 in the 3rd frame, but rallied from there to take control of the match. The Dutch did not trail in the fourth set, despite its close nature.
Katie Scheckel led the way with 17 kills, with Natalia Plate and Brooke Schulte each adding eight. Olivia Cutler tallied four service aces in the effort. The Dutch improve to 22-8 overall and stay undefeated in the Little Hawkeye Conference, and look to clinch the outright league title next week at home for senior night against Indianola.
Pella Cross Country Girls Victorious Without Top Two; Boys Work on Pack in Runner-Up Finish to MVL in Williamsburg
It was a scheduled night off for two of the fastest runners in Iowa High School Cross Country, but the depth of the #1 in 3A Pella girls shined through anyway at Williamsburg, with the Dutch winning the meet.
Marissa Ferebee and Elsie Brenneman were given the night to rest, so the Dutch highlighted some of their depth and defeated #3 in 3A Mount Vernon-Lisbon by 42 points. Lizzy VandeVoort (4th – 19:10.9), Carleigh Altwine (7th – 19:40.7), Ruth Dunham (8th – 19:41.5), Dana McCulla (14th – 20:15.6), and Lizzie Neumann (15th – 19:41.5) rounded out the team score.
“A couple girls were given an opportunity to it’s to race Varsity with Marissa and Elsie having a scheduled race off,” said Head Coach Doug Cutler. “This was decided back in July. Excellent races for them and for the ladies who led the JV team tonight.”
Pella’s No. 2 in 3A boys fell in a narrow matchup with #3 Mount Vernon-Lisbon in a race where the Dutch were attempting to form a pack.
“Canaan Dunham showed tremendous leadership tonight sacrificing his individual performance to help with a team tactic. We are working to pack closer together and he led that endeavor. First time our spread has been under 1:00. Canaan will be full throttle again Saturday. I believe he taught the guys something today that will make them all stronger down the road,” Cutler says.
The Dutch placed the No. 8 through 11 individual runners, including Mason Gaulke (16:45.9), Jonah Ebersole (17:00.4), Porter Carlton (17:05.3), and Canaan Dunham (17:05.4).
Pella returns to action this Saturday at Wartburg.
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The Pella girls tennis team is at the Class 1A state singles and doubles tournament in Iowa City today. Find the bracket here.