3A Recap, Reaction: Humboldt Tops Western Christian

<!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong><em>Get 30% off your first billing cycle with code:&nbsp;howe30&nbsp;in the coupon code area</em></strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>CORALVILLE - </strong>Humboldt came into the state tournament as the fifth seed. The Wildcats weren't given much of a chance at winning in a loaded Class 3A field, so they approached the event saying they had nothing to lose. After advancing to Thursday's championship match, they have something to win - the school's first-ever title. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>While they said there was nothing to lose, the Wildcats believed they could win. Still, they were even a bit stunned at knocking off top-seeded and heavily-favored Western Christian in a five-set, semifinal thriller on Wednesday. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>"This is just unreal. It actually doesn't feel real, I guess," Humboldt sophomore Addison Walford said. "I would have never guessed at the beginning of the season that we were going to play in the championship. I'm just so, so, so excited." </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Her mother, head coach Kara Waldorf, said after Tuesday's quarterfinal win against fourth-seeded Cherokee that she believed her Wildcats could shock the state's volleyball community against mighty Western Christian, a state participant in each of the last 24 years. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Still, when it happened, the coach was hit by the enormity of the accomplishment. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>"Us coaches, we talked about it all season how they could do it, and just seeing them do it, I'm just so incredibly proud of them. Yeah, very emotional," she said. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>It's a resilient bunch of Wildcats, which lost Wednesday's first set convincingly, 25-16, before bouncing back to take two of the next three to force a fifth. It was tight to the finish, the pressure weighing on both squads. Humboldt handled it better. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>"We came in, and we knew we could get the job done," sophomore middle hitter [player_tooltip player_id='746258' first='Adelynn' last='Goodell'] said. "We came so far. We had an amazing season." </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Aggressiveness was the key. The Wildcats pushed the pace on the attack. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>"We did amazing just terminating the ball," Goodell said. "Once we got it, we just really wanted to put it away. Passing did amazing today. ([player_tooltip player_id='545946' first='Addison' last='Waldorf']) moved the ball around, and that was a huge thing for us so we could all terminate the ball." </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Waldorf finished with 42 assists, 15 digs and six blocks. Goodell terminated the ball 21 times to go with seven blocks, and [player_tooltip player_id='261087' first='Mia' last='Schluter'] had 11 kills. [player_tooltip player_id='801455' first='Claire' last='Dieleman'] came up with 19 digs, while [player_tooltip player_id='833174' first='Jazzie' last='Dodd'] had 12 digs with five blocks and three assists. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>[player_tooltip player_id='781456' first='Morgan' last='Kooiman'] paced Western Christian with 20 kills and five blocks. [player_tooltip player_id='838030' first='Scarlett' last='Winterfeld'] and [player_tooltip player_id='489999' first='Bentley' last='Bliek'] each had 10 kills, and [player_tooltip player_id='455736' first='Maggie' last='Van Schepen'] handed out 40 assists. [player_tooltip player_id='741262' first='Breslyn' last='Kooima'] picked up 25 digs. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>It was a tough ending for the Wolfpack, which wasn't surprised by Humboldt's performance. The team's met in a competitive regional final last season.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>"They are definitely a better team than last year," Kooima said. "I remember last year saying they were young and they would be good next year. And, yeah, they're a really strong team." </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Humboldt continues its improbable run in Thursday's state championship match against second-seeded Assumption. It will take another special effort from the Wildcats. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>"I think resetting and knowing that we can win this," Goodell said. "Having that confidence is huge, and not getting to rattled and knowing we can do this." </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:embed {"url":"https://youtu.be/pTQvT4GHVSE","type":"video","providerNameSlug":"youtube","responsive":true,"className":"wp-embed-aspect-16-9 wp-has-aspect-ratio"} --> <figure class="wp-block-embed is-type-video is-provider-youtube wp-block-embed-youtube wp-embed-aspect-16-9 wp-has-aspect-ratio"><div class="wp-block-embed__wrapper"> https://youtu.be/pTQvT4GHVSE </div></figure> <!-- /wp:embed --> <!-- wp:embed {"url":"https://youtu.be/pmhAwNd-D9g","type":"video","providerNameSlug":"youtube","responsive":true,"className":"wp-embed-aspect-16-9 wp-has-aspect-ratio"} --> <figure class="wp-block-embed is-type-video is-provider-youtube wp-block-embed-youtube wp-embed-aspect-16-9 wp-has-aspect-ratio"><div class="wp-block-embed__wrapper"> https://youtu.be/pmhAwNd-D9g </div></figure> <!-- /wp:embed -->