CORALVILLE, Iowa – Saint Ansgar fell into an early hole, but climbed out quickly and won a state championship.

   The top-seeded Saints got contributions up and down the lineup in beating No. 2 Janesville 3-1 to claim the Class 1A title and wrap up the 2025 volleyball season. In winning its first state championship in the sport, Saint Ansgar denied Janesville a return to the top after the Wildcats won five titles between 2013 and 2018.

   Janesville rolled in the first set 25-14, but it was all Saint Ansgar after that – 25-22, 25-19, 25-20.

   Senior Setter Sofia Parrott set the tone for the Saints (31-4) throughout the match and was named captain of the all-tournament team. She put up a strong line with 38 assists, eight kills and five digs, getting most of those kills by flipping the ball over the net to catch the Wildcats by surprise.

   Ava Falk led the balanced attack with 13 kills and came up with 12 digs. Lindsay Kruse added 12 kills, Quinn Osgood had 11 to go with 18 digs and Jacey Johnston tacked on 10.

   Johnston and Kruse also were selected to the all-tournament team along with Janesville’s Quinn Sweeney, Hayden Anderson and Taylor Pollock and Dunkerton’s Taylor Kipp.

   Sweeney, a 6-foot-2 freshman, led Janesville (33-12) with 12 kills and Anderson had 10. Pollock compiled 36 assists and tacked on a couple of kills.

   Janesville looked like it was on the road to another championship when it swept Saint Ansgar aside in the first set. But Saint Ansgar built leads of up to five points in the second set, gaining confidence along the way, and took care of business from then on. The match winner came when Falk hammered home a perfect set from Parrott on the left side.

   The title was just the second state championship for Saint Ansgar in a girls' sport. The Saints won the Class 1A track title in 2024.