CORALVILLE – Hitters galore, a slick setter and hustling back row players. It all added up to a state volleyball championships for Mount Vernon.

All-tournament captain Chloe Meester knocked down 16 kills, Sydney Maue added 14 and top-ranked Mount Vernon rolled past No. 2 Western Christian in three sets to win the Class 3A title at Xtream Arena on Thursday. 

Western Christian had been seeking a third straight championship after beating Mount Vernon in last year’s finals, but the Mustangs turned the tables in a big way, winning 25-17, 25-17 and 25-18. 

Sydney Huber set up the Mustangs’ hitters in a variety of spots, including the back row on occasion, and finished with 38 assists plus four kills of her own and six digs. She and Maue, who had eight digs, also were named to the all-tournament team. Eryn Jackson led Mount Vernon (45-4) with 15 digs. 

Morgan Kooiman led Western Christian (33-14) with 11 kills, Scarlett Winterfeld had 10 and setter Maggie Van Schepen put together an impressive line with 28 assists, five kills and eight digs. 

Van Schepen and Winterfeld joined the Mount Vernon stars on the all-tournament team, along with Olivia Donovan of Dubuque Wahlert Catholic and Hannah Cantwell of West Delaware.

Mount Vernon, also the state champion in 2019, hit .542 in a dominating performance in the opening set and kept it up from there, finishing with 46 kills to 35 for Western Christian. The Mustangs also had 10 blocks to just two for the Wolfpack, whose blocking made the difference in last year’s championship match.

But this year, the Mount Vernon hitters were just too strong. Paige Schurbon added five kills for Mount Vernon, Sophia Meester had four and CaliAna Whitaker finished with three to go with four blocks.

Western Christian began the season with six straight losses and didn’t get over .500 until the 15th match of the season. But the Wolfpack, who always play a challenging schedule, found their stride and made the state tournament for the 24th straight year and 42nd overall. They’ve won 19 state championships, the last 14 under current coach Tammi Veerbeek.