Without senior Katie Vander Molen due to injury, the Pella volleyball team hung tough against Carlisle to win 3-1 (23-25, 25-18, 25-20, 25-19) and advance to the Class 4A regional finals.

Pella dropped the first set despite a 20-13 lead, due in part to great defense from the Wildcats and an off-balance offensive attack for the Lady Dutch.

Carlisle hung tough for the remainder, but clutch hitting from the likes of Kiara Bradley and Natalie Clayberg kept the ladies in red from closing the gap.

Head Coach Catie Brand credits the Wildcats for solving much of the Dutch offensive attack on a night in which they struggled to find consistency.

“Carlisle’s defense came to play tonight,” Brand says, “Both their block, and how scrappy they were. Balls that normally go down for points for us–either on a block or on a swing, they weren’t falling and our hitters had to be really, really patient with that, and that’s not something we’ve been used to.”

Bradley led the team with 16 kills and Clayberg had 13 with two block assists. Emily Holterhaus struck for 15 and tacked on three service aces.

Pella is 35-4 and has a rematch with conference rival Norwalk for a chance to go to state Monday night in the Tulip City.