The 2-seed Dike-New Hartford volleyball team was efficient in Tuesday’s Class 2A quarterfinal, and notched another rivalry win over 7-seed Aplington-Parkersburg in a 3-0 sweep, as aired on 104.9 KLMJ. The set scores were 25-9, 28-26, 25-21.
DNH raced out to the early advantage, sizzling by hitting .394 in the first set. The lead changed hands six times throughout a competitive second set. AP led 22-18 and appeared to be on their way to tying the match. Each team had set point twice before the Wolverines closed it out, outscoring the Falcons 10-4 in that stretch. AP held off match point five times before the Wolverines closed out the sweep. DNH senior Abby Jensen led with 17 kills and was named the player of the game.
“I feel like we were all really excited and came out really strong,” Jensen says. “And then the second set kind of brought us back to reality a little bit. We all had to focus back in and realize that like we’ve still got to play this game, we had to focus on all of our responsibilities there. But I think we finished on that same kind of note we started the first set with, so kind of felt all the emotions in that one.”
Head Coach Diane Harms says while it was a win, they’ll need to clean some things up before the semifinal.
“It was not easy,” Harms says. “The girls did a great job of staying together. The first set we came out, we executed very, very well. Second set, we were a little lack of discipline defensively on some of our things we were supposed to do. But the girls stayed together and battled and found a way to pull that second set out. Third set, we struggled to finish to close it out. Had three service errors back to back to back when we had the chance to close the set out. And AP just always took advantage of what we weren’t doing correctly.”
Keely Kauten added 12 kills and Aubrey Asche had 16 digs.
AP coach Candace Kleespies says the team battled hard, but it wasn’t enough against an elite opponent.
“We didn’t come out like we said we were going to, so the girls could have easily rolled over there,” Kleespies says. “And they out that second set as the team we’ve been these last two weeks. I’m proud of them for making that shift and showing why we got down here. And then losing that second set, having the lead and them executing on some more balls at the end than we did. They could have easily given in and they didn’t. There’s a reason why DNH is number two and they’ve been number two all year. They’re just always a very disciplined team that plays great defense and executes when needed.”
AP has closed its season at 28-11. DNH (39-9) will take on 3-seed Hinton in a 2A semifinal Wednesday at 4:25 p.m. on 104.9 KLMJ.
