A highly-touted senior class leads the way for the Pella volleyball team in the upcoming fall season.
Head Coach Catie Brand tells KNIA/KRLS Sports a group led by three-time All-State Middle Hitter Emily Holterhaus, all-state honorable mention outside Natalie Clayberg, and all-conference players Jenna Schulte and Kennady Klein, highlight a solid core to build from.
“We do return a lot of players, they do have a lot of experience at the state level and in other sports too, they’ve competed at a high level, and they’re pretty hungry for this senior season,” Brand says.
The Class of 2019 has seen incredible success for the program since their freshman year, with a team record of 98 wins and 23 losses since 2015-16, with three straight state tournament appearances during that time.
Holterhaus has been a cornerstone over her entire career so far, racking up 1246 kills and a career .326 efficiency rating, as well as 109 service aces and 290 blocks (63 solo). Clayberg has also seen the floor since her 9th grade year, with 593 career kills and 79 aces. Klein’s 414 digs and 4.06 digs per set both led the Lady Dutch in 2017 as the libero, while Schulte added 74 kills and 71 blocks (2nd on the team) last fall.
Pella will begin the journey of what they hope is a fourth straight trip to the state tournament on Tuesday, August 21st, when they host Ballard.