D-NH volleyball ousted in state quarterfinals

CEDAR RAPIDS – Dike-New Hartford brought a lot of history into a 12th-consecutive appearance at the U.S. Cellular Center last Wednesday.

The Wolverines' quarterfinal opponent, the Knights of Unity Christian, were no stranger to the state tournament themselves, making a fifth-consecutive appearance at the tournament and the 20th appearance in school history.

The difference on Wednesday came down to experience, and there was no question it's where D-NH was lacking the most.

It was a stark contrast in Unity Christian's sweep of D-NH in a 2A state quarterfinal in Cedar Rapids last Wednesday.

Unity Christian won 25-22, 25-13, 25-19 and the Knights eventually went on to the 2A championship game, finishing as state runners-up to Western Christian.

D-NH's season ended at 35-13.

After falling short in a competitive first set and digging too deep of a hole to overcome in the second set, the Wolverines had fight again in the third set, but the Knights were on a mission with plenty of returning firepower from last year's state quarterfinalist team.

"We made a run [in the third set] to get going, but they kept the pressure on, kept bringing it at us," Harms said. "We made too many mistakes tonight. Our younger players haven't played as well as they have all season, but that's to be expected at this stage, they're not quite used to it. They'll learn from it and be stronger for that."

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