The No. 1 Pella volleyball team will make a return trip to the U.S. Cellular Center after their 3-0 sweep (25-13, 25-21, 25-15) of conference foe Norwalk in the Class 4A regional finals last night, earning their second straight state appearance.

From wire-to-wire, Head Coach Catie Brand says the Lady Dutch played at a high level, and never let the Warriors get into a rhythm behind a big crowd.

“We also wanted to night to be a home court advantage,” she says. “We don’t feel like the semifinals round necessarily was, so we did a better job of preparing for that too–creating our own energy in the gym, making sure we practiced both sides of the net because we knew Norwalk wouldn’t have that advantage.”

Senior Katie Vander Molen was back on the floor after missing the semifinals with Carlisle, and tells KNIA/KRLS Sports the team looks forward to returning to state after last year’s first round exit.

“A major factor is just experience,” she says. “I think last year we went, ‘woah, this is a little bigger than we expected,’ so I think this year we’re going to go into it with more confidence.”

Pella travels to Cedar Rapids on Tuesday, November 8th at 4 p.m. against No. 9 Nevada in the opening round of the Class 4A state tournament. Stay tuned to KNIA/KRLS for broadcast details.

STATS:
Emily Holterhaus – 8 kills, .216 kill eff, 2 assisted blocks, 4 aces
Natalie Clayberg – 8 kills, 1 solo block
Kiara Bradley – 5 kills, 1 solo block
Kiki Pingel – 4 kills, 22 assists, 13 digs, 1 block assist