The Pella volleyball team hopes they started a long and literal road to the state tournament Tuesday, knocking off Bondurant-Farrar 3-1 (25-19, 19-25, 25-16, 25-17) in the Class 4A Region 7 opener.

Pella came from behind early in the first set, only to fall behind and never regain their footing in the second series. The Dutch largely dominated the final two sets to advance.

Pella Head Coach Sam Sheldon was happy with the team’s serving in particular.

“Our serving really carried us tonight. We were very aggressive behind the line and it paid off in keeping Bondurant out of system. I’m really proud of how our defense worked with our offense to help us get into the flow of the match and beat a solid team. We are really looking forward to Thursday.”

Katie Scheckel finished with 11 kills and Brooke Schulte added 10, with Sydney Namminga and Abbie Brand each adding three bocks each, Kyli Hiemstra nabbing 19 digs and Hunter Hughell tallying seven aces.

The Dutch improve to 21-19 overall and next head to #14 in 4A Ballard in Huxley on Thursday.