No. 1 Mount Vernon continues to take on the slings and arrows from the top programs in the state and beyond.

On Saturday at the Shirley Ryan Invitational, the Mustangs beat three Top 6-ranked teams on the way to the title in their home gym.

“Beating great teams is really a tall task,” Mount Vernon coach Maggie Willems said. “Maintaining the level of play and execution under pressure is hard.”

In pool play, Mount Vernon beat Waverly-Shell Rock 21-7, 21-8, topped Davis County 21-4, 21-3, and defeated Des Moines Christian 21-11, 21-13.

In the quarterfinals, Mount Vernon beat No. 6 (2A) Dike-New Hartford 25-20, 25-27, 15-7. In the semifinals, they topped No. 2 (3A) Davenport Assumption, 25-20, 19-25, 15-6.

Both matches the Mustangs dropped the second set, and won the tiebreaker.

“We were pushed to a third set against two powerhouses, and came out with attention to detail and energy that allowed us to win those deciding sets,” Willems said.

In the championship, Mount Vernon beat No. 3 (4A) North Scott 25-19, 25-19.

“This team is resilient and able to find a way together when the pressure is on,” Willems said.

Chloe Meester finished the day with 66 kills over six matches. Following her in attacks, Sydney Maue had 35 kills, Paige Schurbon 22 kills, Sophia Meester 21 kills, and Cali Whitaker 16 kills. Sydney Huber had 131 assists.

“We are terminal from every offensive position,” Willems said. “You may get the eye test of our big pin hitters, but at the end of the day, the efficiency of all our hitters is critical to our balance.”

Leading the defense, Eryn Jackson had 47 digs and sophomore Mavrik Schweer added 24 digs.

Mount Vernon (13-2) played its first non-tournament event Tuesday, Sept. 10, against No. 9 Solon. Next up is a special outdoor match Tuesday, Sept. 17, at No. 12 West Delaware.