CEDAR RAPIDS - Dike-New Hartford knew the task would be tough, and it was up for the challenge.

In a rematch of last season's Class 2A state volleyball championship match, the Wolverines came out and put Western Christian's backs to the wall.

The Wolfpack proved they were also up to the challenge, surviving a marathon first set to win its seventh state title in the last eight seasons 33-31, 25-18, 25-18 at the U.S. Cellular Center.

As opposed to years past, many on this year's Western Christian squad were state tournament rookies. The Wolfpack lost four staters and eight seniors from last year's team.

One of the two returnees - libero Jenessa Schutte - was relegated to back row as she was playing with a sprained ankle suffered earlier in the tournament.

"I think it was somewhat of a motivating factor that people thought we would be down this year," Wolfpack head coach Tammi Veerbeek said. "We did gradutate eight seniors, but nobody got to see these girls working in practice against those seniors. We knew the talent was there."

The match may have been decided early on.

Western Christian fought off six game points while Dike-New Hartford survived two in a grueling first set that saw five different Wolfpack players save set points with either blocks or kills.

Leading 26-25, Hannah Willms had the Wolverines' best chance at converting a set point but her attack down the line missed just wide. Down 31-30, Western Christian's Steph Fykstra tied the set for a 23rd time with a solo block. Following a Wolverine hitting error, she ended it with a kill.

"We should have gotten that game," Willms said. "We had our chances, but then again they did a good job of returning, and they put it down when they needed to."

The momentum from a dramatic first set victory carried over into set two. Western Christian never trailed in the frame. Dike-New Hartford rallied from four points down to tie the set at 15 before the Wolfpack won 10 of the final 13 points.

The Wolverines rallied to tie set three at 16, and Western Christian again responded by winning nine of the final 11 points.

"We fought hard in games two and three, but we just never quite got into our rhythm those two sets," Dike-New Hartford coach Diane Harms said. "We kept fighting to get ourselves close and then they'd pull away again and we'd have to keep fighting."

The Wolfpack front line, with three six-footers, kept Dike-New Hartford's attack in check, holding the Wolverines to .108 hitting.

After landing nine kills in the first set, Hannah Willms was held to nine over the final two frames. She finished with a Class 2A state tournament high 56 kills and was named captain of the all-tournament team. The standout junior and her team has earned Western Christian's respect.

"Dike New-Hartford is a very, very good team," said Western Chirstian's Brittany Landegent who tied Steph Fykstra for a team-high 14 kills. "Hannah Willms is amazing. I look up to her, and even though she's younger than me, she has a lot of talent."

All-tournament team setter Jenny Willms dished out 31 assists in her final match to go with 14 digs. Senior Emily Merfeld led the defense with 17 digs.

D-NH will now look to regroup in a manner similar to Western Christain. The Wolverines lose six seniors, including four to graduation.

Hannah Willms will be back, however, and she's ready to take on a new challenge.

"This year was a lot of fun," she said. "Coming here last year we were really young, so we were just happy to make the tournament.

"This year we came up short again, but we really, really want to get down here again next year and see what we can do."

Contact Nick Petaros at (319) 291-1428 or nick.petaros@wcfcourier.com.