Back in August, before the Mustangs started their march to 45 wins and a Class 3A state championship, Mount Vernon coach Maggie Willems gave senior Chloe Meester a word.

LEAD.

“I knew that Chloe continuing to develop as a leader was important for our team to be able to do what we ultimately did this season,” Willems said.

So, in addition to her thunderous attacks and solid all-around play, Meester tried to deliver for the Mustangs in other ways.

“I definitely had to work on it,” Meester said. “At first it was really hard. It was hard to always stay positive when things don’t go your way.

“You get stuck sometimes, but you have to lead them out.”

By the time the playoffs began, Meester wrote the word on her forearm, to remind her she had more to do than just bump, set and spike.

“Chloe is a middle daughter, and has wonderful middle child tendencies,” Willems said. “She is deeply caring and loves to have fun. And she probably isn’t someone that wanted to tell someone what to do.

“For her to learn how to tactfully ask certain things of her teammates, or to create energy, and most important lead through adversity … she managed her own frustrations and helped her teammates, too.”

Mount Vernon, after finishing runner-up at state a year ago, swept its way through the 3A state field this fall. Meester averaged 4.8 kills per set and hit at a .461 efficiency on the season.

Last week, Meester was named the Player of the Year in Iowa, regardless of class. She was the 3A Player of the Year, too, an honor she repeated from 2023. She was told by her Willems between classes.

“Coach stopped me in the hallway,” Meester said. “When she showed me … ‘Dang! I didn’t think I’d get it.’”

A pretty good year often comes with some pretty good postseason honors.

Meester was also on the 8-player IGCA Elite All-State Team, as was senior hitter Sydney Maue.

Meester and Maue were joined on the 3A All-State team by senior setter Sydney Huber. Senior Paige Schurbon was a third-team all-state pick.

Willems was the 3A Coach of the Year.

Meester, Huber, Maue and Schurbon were also all first team in the Class 3A Northeast District. And Willems was District Coach of the Year.

“I can lead a team to win it all,” Meester said. “It’s about being positive and supporting others. They will work hard and support you, too. Which my team did.