Recap, Reaction: Western Christian Back on Top in 3A

<!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong><em>Get 30% off your first billing cycle with code: howe30 in the coupon code area</em></strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>CORALVILLE -</strong> Western Christian exited here last year feeling a lot of emotions. The top-seeded Wolfpack were left mad, sad and disappointed following a loss to Humboldt in the state tournament semifinals. They vowed to take advantage if another opportunity came around in 2026.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Western followed through on that goal with a 3-0 win against Cherokee Washington in Thursday's Class 3A title match. It tied the Wolfpack with Dubuque Wahlert for the most titles in Iowa history with 20. It's their first crown since 2023, when they were repeat champions.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Cherokee was competing in its first title match. It was the Braves third-ever appearance at the tournament. They also advanced in 2023 and 2025. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>[player_tooltip player_id='781456' first='Morgan' last='Kooiman'], a South Dakota commitment, was named the captain of the Class 4A all-tournament team. She was joined on the squad by teammate [player_tooltip player_id='1053499' first='Josie' last='Hall'] along with Cherokee's [player_tooltip player_id='493982' first='Deidra' last='Doeden'] and [player_tooltip player_id='574225' first='Addy' last='Wolfswinkel']. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Kooiman finished with a match-high 17 kills (.400), [player_tooltip player_id='767740' first='Maddyn' last='De Jager'] chipped in 14 kills (.333) and 12 digs, and Hall produced nine kills and seven digs. [player_tooltip player_id='741262' first='Breslyn' last='Kooima'] paced the winners with 13 digs, and [player_tooltip player_id='741260' first='Hadley' last='Dekkers'] dished out 38 assist. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Doeden led her team with 12 kills and six blocks. Wolfswinkel contributed 11 assists, 11 digs and eight kills, while Ellana Mortenson had eight kills and a team-high 14 digs. Mahren Malausky handed out 17 assists and came up with eight digs, and [player_tooltip player_id='918847' first='Ireland' last='Kennedy'] was credited with 13 digs. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Cherokee led 16-15 in the first set and looked like it was going to give the favorites a hard time. However, the Wolfpack responded with a 5-0 run to gain control. They closed Set 1 out, 25-20, and carried that momentum over to dominate the second set, 25-12.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>The Braves responded in Set 3, pushing to a 19-15 lead and forcing a Western timeout. The champs met the moment, reeling off four points in a row to tie it up. Cherokee took a timeout and rallied for a 23-21 lead. Western bounced back to tie it at 24-24. Kooiman then hammered down a pair of kills to end the match and secure history for the Wolfpack. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:embed {"url":"https://youtu.be/9PR1iaFVy-o","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/9PR1iaFVy-o </div></figure> <!-- /wp:embed --> <!-- wp:embed {"url":"https://youtu.be/gYbL0Uk8OWs","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/gYbL0Uk8OWs </div></figure> <!-- /wp:embed -->