Iowa state volleyball: Dike-New Hartford completes magical season with Class 2A title
CEDAR RAPIDS — Whether Dike-New Hartford could dominate in a larger class will have to remain a hypothetical question. But the Wolverines' place among their Class 2A peers is abundantly clear.
No. 1. And it's not close.
Top-seeded Dike-New Hartford completed an incredible season with a sweep of No. 3 seed Western Christian in the 2A title game, 25-16, 25-17, 25-22, Thursday at Alliant Energy PowerHouse. The Wolverines (54-1) finished off a repeat bid for the ages.
If anyone was going to mess with this beast, it would take a program with prestige like the Wolfpack (40-6). Veteran coach Tammi Verbeek is a mainstay at the state tournament and has plenty of hardware to prove it. Still, this was a challenge like any other.
Dike-New Hartford rarely surrenders double figures, even this deep in the postseason, so putting up 16 points in a first-set loss had to feel like a minor win for Western Christian. Even the mighty Wolfpack were a bit overwhelmed. A heavy dose of 2A all-tournament captain Payton Petersen propelled the Wolverines to a two-set advantage.
"She's big-time," Verbeek said.
Western Christian raced out to a 9-2 advantage to force a Wolverines timeout. Was this a minor shift in momentum or simply putting off the probable?
"We've got to take care of this right now," Wolverines coach Diane Harms told her team.
"Let's take care of it right here."
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The Wolverines eventually did, morphing a seven-point deficit into a five-point cushion as the final points lingered. Dike-New Hartford wasn't going to let this get to a fourth set.
The win finishes off a year that will be discussed in volleyball circles for some time. The Wolverines ended on a 20-game winning streak in which they didn't drop a single set. Dike-New Hartford dropped only six sets all season, a third of which came in its only loss to 5A top seed Iowa City Liberty on Sept. 25.
None of it would've mattered without a title. That was the goal in August and remained the goal in November. The Wolverines made sure this season was properly concluded.
Dargan Southard covers Iowa and UNI athletics, recruiting and preps for the Des Moines Register, HawkCentral.com and the Iowa City Press-Citizen. Email him at msouthard@gannett.com or follow him on Twitter at @Dargan_Southard.
This article originally appeared on Des Moines Register: Dike-New Hartford wins Class 2A Iowa state volleyball title
