VAN METER — Van Meter handed Class 2A No. 9 Woodward-Granger a loss on the volleyball court Tuesday.
Unfortunately for the Bulldogs, the loss was only in one set — the first set in West Central Conference play the Hawks have dropped this year — as W-G bounced back for a 3-1 win. The victory secured the third consecutive conference championship for W-G, who, entering tonight’s match at Ogden, is 62-4 in WCC play since joining the league in 2009. They have won three consecutive titles and have dropped only two sets in three seasons.
W-G (25-6, 7-0) won the first two sets Tuesday with scores of 25-12 and 25-13 before Van Meter (16-10, 6-1) scored a 25-21 win the third set. The Hawks responded with a 25-17 win in the fourth set to complete the win.
The Hawks would win the title outright with a win at Ogden tonight. Ogden has won 10 of their last 12 matches, but the two losses are 3-0 sweeps by Van Meter and Des Moines Christian, both handled with little trouble by W-G.
Olivia McCune and Mary Hansen had 15 and 13 kills, respectively, to lead W-G. Bree Lesch had seven kills, Alyssa Bice five, Julie Pitman four and Ashley Gales two. Hansen dished out 21 assists and Bice 19, with Kara Bodensteiner providing two assists and Gales and Lesch one apiece.
Lesch had 24 digs, Bodensteiner 18 and Kaycee Major 13, with Hansen having eight digs, Bice and McCune three apiece and Gales, Pitman and Riley Kirton one each. McCune and Pitman had two blocks apiece, with single blocks recorded by Bice, Gales and Hansen.
W-G served exceptionally well against Van Meter, hitting on 86-of-91 (.945) attempts behind the line, an effort that included 10 aces.
Lesch was 17-18-3, Hansen 15-16-3 and Bodensteiner 17-18-1, with Kirton 13-13-1, McCune 13-14-1 and Bice 11-12-1.
W-G will conclude their regular season Saturday when they host the annual Norm McCune Invitational.
