The La Salle-Peru volleyball team came out firing on all cylinders in the Class 3A La Salle-Peru Sectional championship.

The Cavaliers raced to an early 10-point lead in the first set and won it by 12 points.

But L-P couldn’t keep its momentum.

Washington made adjustments, and led by University of Iowa commit Carly Dawson, the Panthers rallied to beat the Cavs 13-25, 25-18, 25-17.

“The first set, we were just really excited,” L-P junior Aubrey Duttlinger said. “We played really loose. I think that’s something we struggled with in the next two sets.

“But I’m really proud of my team. The outcome wasn’t what we wanted, but I think we played as hard as we possibly could.”

Washington (23-14) punched its ticket back home to the Washington Supersectional to face Providence (33-6).

“We came out on fire,” L-P coach Mark Haberkorn said. “That’s the best we played all year. Everything and anything went our way. Whatever we wanted to do, it seemed like everything worked. They panicked a little bit, and we just continued to sail.

“Sets two and three, it was almost a complete turnaround. They played a lot better. They got more aggressive. They had us running here and running there and we couldn’t get into our offense as much. We blocked very well in set one, but the rest of the night our blocking wasn’t as effective.

“We fought, but we just didn’t play to the level we did in set one.”

The Cavs grabbed the momentum early and got the big L-P crowd going as Kelsey Frederick put down back-to-back kills - the second coming on a freeball - and Duttlinger slamming one down after Karmen Piano saved the ball to give L-P a 4-1 lead and causing the Panthers to call timeout.

The break did little to slow down the Cavs, as they pushed the lead out to 14-3 behind a seven-point service run by L-P freshman setter Aubrey Urbanski.

The Cavs led by double digits the rest of the way and ended the set with a kill by Duttlinger.

“I like to say, ‘Memory like a goldfish.’ Just that next play mentality,” Duttlinger said about the first set. “We didn’t let them go on long runs like we did in the next two sets. I think that was a real big advantage.”

In the second set, the Panthers took the lead at 4-3 on a tip by Haley Ashley and led the rest of the way before an L-P service error ended it.

The decisive third set was tight early with ties at 2, 3, 4, 8 and 9 and neither team leading by more than three points. Washington took the lead on a kill by Jenna Aeschliman before a throw to the corner by Dawson and an ace by Aeschliman led Haberkorn to call timeout trailing 12-9.

Then Dawson took over.

After a tip by Frederick and an L-P service error, the 6-foot-2 junior had a block and three straight kills to push the Panthers’ lead to 17-10.

Dawson finished with 18 kills.

“We blocked her the first set,” Haberkorn said. “Then she took her game to another level. Set two they put her in a different spot. Set three we countered with Drew (Depenbrock) to block her and maybe slowed her down, but we couldn’t control her like we did in set one.”

The Cavs rallied within five at 19-14, but couldn’t get any closer.

“They definitely adjusted to where we were,” Duttlinger said. “We tried to move around that adjustment, but they adjusted again. They have big hitters and scrappy defense.”

Duttlinger had a huge night for L-P, as she put down a match-high 19 kills to go along with eight digs and a block. Frederick had nine kills, Anna Riva had 13 points and 13 digs, Emma Jereb put up 17 assists and had eight digs, Urbanski served 18 points and had eight assists, and Piano contributed 12 digs.

“[Duttlinger] played well the second half of the season,” Haberkorn said. “She played like this every match. She got a lot of sets tonight, and she answered with big kills. That’s what we expected.”

L-P finishes the season 32-6 for the 16th 30-win season in Haberkorn’s tenure. Five of the six losses came to 3A regional champions, including sectional champions Washington and Providence, with the sixth loss against Limestone (34-3).

“We had a great season,” Haberkorn said. “Every match we lost was against a quality opponent. We tied for the conference again. We have a lot to be proud of.”

The loss ended the careers of seniors Frederick, Jereb, Depenbrock, Riva, Piano, McKenzie Krzyaniak, Sophia Pyszka and Brileigh Holland.

“Our seniors really are going to be missed,” Haberkorn said. “They were great role models. The chemistry on this team was unbelievable.”

ExpandAutoplay

Image 1 of 21

L-P's Aubrey Duttlinger reacts after loosing to Washington during the Class 3A Sectional final game on Thursday, Nov. 6, 2025 in Sellett Gymnasium at L-P High School. (Scott Anderson)