Today we continue the countdown of the Top 10 sports stories of the 2016-2017 school year at Pella High School with number three.

The Pella volleyball team earned a spot in their first state championship game in one of the most thrilling volleyball matches of tournament after they defeated Bishop Heelan in five sets in a semifinals game heard live on 92.1 KRLS in November.

It took a fifth set rally down 8-10, when they scored six points in a row to get to match point and eventually seal the victory.

Pella’s serving and blocking kept Heelan in check in the sets they won, outblocking the Crusaders 21-8 and racking up seven service aces to Heelan’s three. Holterhaus tells KNIA/KRLS Sports the blocking set up many much needed points late in the contest.

“I think it gets the other team more nervous, and it kind of gets us pumped up,” she says.

No. 1-seeded Pella fell to No. 2-seeded Dubuque Wahlert, who won their 18th state title. Pella’s runner-up finish was the best in school history.