CORALVILLE — Many teams had a hard time derailing the rolling train that was Eddyville-Blakesburg-Fremont during the 2024 Iowa high school volleyball season.
Led by UNI commits and twin sisters, Molly and Kate Shafer, the Rockets were on a 27-match unbeaten streak entering the Class 2A state championships at Xtream Arena on Thursday.
But it was Denver that formulated a winning strategy, earning a win over EBF in straight sets (25-16, 25-23, 25-20) to clinch the first state title in program history.
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"It's just crazy to think about," junior setter Channing Johnson said about winning Denver's first volleyball state title. "My sister was in this match like four years back and it's just crazy that we can finally take one home and I'm so happy to do it with my best friends."
The Cyclones were firing on all cylinders in the opening set. While EBF struggled in the hitting department (.194%), Denver countered with efficient offense. The Cyclones totaled 13 kills powered by a .500 hitting percentage in the opening frame. EBF posted eight errors while Denver was limited to just three miscues in the first set. That allowed Denver to cruise to a 25-16 victory.
"Starting set one so well, we had a little bit more of a comfortable lead, I think that it allowed us to play loose enough when those scores got tight in set two and set three," said Denver coach Jamie Johnson.
EBF did its best to bridge the gap in the second set until Denver's Bailey Mullihan made her presence felt. Down 22-23, the 5-foot-11 junior collected back-to-back kills to put the Cyclones in front before earning a block - with the help of junior Mylee Thurm - to snatch set two, 25-23.
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Down as many as four at one point, the Cyclones fought back to make set three a 20-20 stalemate down the stretch. Potent offense from Grace Mullihan and Adeana Murch - powered by strong stops near the net - made the difference in the final frame and helped Denver clinch the 2A state championship.
"Honestly, having that (2-0 lead) made it harder for us to come back because we were like, 'Oh, we have another set if we need it' but we really had to put our foot on the gas and we did that," Channing Johnson said. "We had great serves and amazing swings from our outsides and middles, and we put it away."
Grace Mullihan posted a team-high 13 kills while Channing Johnson and Bailey Mullihan each pitched in 11 kills. Channing Johnson racked up 38 assists while Alayna Akers totaled 13 digs. Grace Mullihan and Bailey Mullihan were named to the 2A all-tournament team.
Denver finished its season with a 47-3 record.
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"We made some adjustments; we added a triple block when (Molly Shafer) was swinging into the back row," Jamie Johnson said. "Those twins are just tremendous players, and I was really proud of my girls just defending their court. We knew tough, sharp balls were coming at us from Molly and we just tried to defend our court and trade."
The Shafer twins also earned a spot in the 2A all-tournament team while Molly Shafer took home team-captain honors. Molly Shafer led EBF with 26 kills and 18 digs while Kate Shafer earned a team-high 36 assists.
The Rockets fell short, but the future is bright for an EBF team that made its first appearance in the 2A state title match. The Rockets finished their 2024 season with an impressive 36-3 record.
"We knew Denver was a good team," Molly Shafer said. "They served tough, and they really just had a lot of good attackers so we kind of knew we were the underdogs in this match, but we had a gameplan and we tried to stick to that to the best of our ability."
Marc Ray is the high school sports reporter for the Iowa City Press-Citizen. He can be reached at MARay@gannett.com , and on X, formerly Twitter, at @themarcszn.