The countdown of Norwalk’s top 10 sports stories from the 2023-2024 school year has reached an historic moment at number 3: the Warrior volleyball team clinching the program’s first-ever State Tournament berth with an incredible five-set regional final win at North Polk.

The Class 4A 10th-ranked Warriors outlasted the 8th-ranked Comets 23-25, 25-20, 25-22, 17-25, 15-9 as both teams were playing in a third consecutive regional final. Norwalk trailed 20-16 in set two before rattling off nine straight points. They were down 20-15 in set three and finished on a 10-2 run, and later secured the match with an 8-1 close to set five.

Norwalk head coach John Fulton told KNIA Sports that he was not only excited for the current players on the team, but for the previous senior classes that helped build the program to a state-caliber level. Fulton added that the regional final atmosphere was something he won’t soon forget.

“I’m just so proud of these girls to get to experience that,” he said. “The North Polk crowd was loud, the Norwalk crowd was loud. That’s an atmosphere that we really enjoy playing in and these girls deserve to have that type of excitement because it’s an exciting sport, and I’m just proud of the way these girls battled all night.”

Making their state debut at Coralville’s Xtream Arena, the Warriors were defeated by top-ranked and unbeaten Clear Creek-Amana in the Class 4A quarterfinals, falling 25-13, 25-14, 25-20. They finished 26-15 overall and placed second in the Little Hawkeye Conference to Indianola – the eventual 4A state runner-up.

Norwalk graduated seven seniors off the roster, led by Noelle Sutcliffe, who spiked 1,224 career kills for one of her 10 school records. Grace Dehmer finished second in career digs with 1,209 and Ava Johnson is fourth in total blocks with 157.