The Norwalk volleyball team’s final numbers for the 2025 season left another indelible mark in a growing tradition of excellence. The Warriors finished 29-12 overall, breaking the school wins record for a second straight year. They went 4-2 in Little Hawkeye Conference matches, tying for third place in a league that sent four teams to the state tournament. Norwalk was one of those state qualifiers, sweeping Bondurant-Farrar and Ballard to earn the program’s second trip to state in the last three years.

The sixth-ranked Warriors lost a four-set match to conference rival Pella in the Class 4A state quarterfinals on Monday, but represented themselves well in terms of talent and determination. Never was that fight more evident than in set two against the Dutch. Norwalk erased a 19-13 deficit and held off five Pella set points to win a 31-29 marathon and even the match at one set apiece.

The Warriors will return some of their top players for another potential run at state in 2026, but they must also say goodbye to five seniors that meant a great deal to head coach John Fulton’s program. Jillian Hammond, Ava Carlson, Jacey Crane, Mary-Kate Davis and Taylor Hanrahan-Klem entered high school the same year that Fulton became the new coach. Since that time, the Warriors have won 107 games, played in four regional finals and made the program’s first two trips to state.

Fulton tells KNIA Sports that all five seniors played a significant role in the team’s success and chemistry this season. “Four years in the program… I’ve been the coach for four years, so they’ve been with me all the way through,” he said. “They did a great job leading and coming to practice and pushing everybody that they could, so I can’t say enough about those five.”

All three seniors that played at the state tournament excelled on Monday night. Carlson played the best game of her career on the biggest stage, according to Fulton, taking numerous big swings and totaling 11 kills and 14 digs. Hammond added 10 kills with a high efficiency of .364 and Crane led the team with five blocks against the Dutch.