The Coe volleyball team won the Iowa Conference tournament Saturday night and half the squad took off for the locker room and their normal post-game meeting.

Not so fast, ladies.

The Kohawks had to be summoned back to the gym at Eby Fieldhouse to collect their tournament awards, pose for pictures and hug everyone in sight.

You'll have to forgive the Kohawks for not knowing how to act after sweeping Buena Vista, because this is the first time Coe has ever won the conference tournament.

"No one was telling us what to do," laughed senior Rachel Schaefer, the all-time kills leader at Coe. "I thought we'd go and talk first and then come up and get our hugs."

The Kohawks (28-8) earned the league's automatic berth in the NCAA Division III regional tournament that begins next week. This will be Coe's second trip to the NCAA tourney in school history.

"It's awesome," said senior Mackenzie Harbaugh, who ranks eighth in the nation in total assists and 14th in service aces. "We've worked so hard for this. It finally paid off and it feels good."

Coe dominated the match, 25-20, 25-17, 25-16.

"It feels amazing," said Coach DeAnn Woodin. "The girls have been battling all year and focused on getting better every day and every match. The hard work has paid off."

The Kohawks lost to Wartburg in the Iowa Conference tournament finals last year and used the near-miss as motivation.

"We wanted it so much," said Harbaugh. "We knew what we had to do and we did it."

Schaefer said the agonizing loss to Wartburg set the stage for this team's success.

"That's what fueled me through all postseason and preseason. Every workout I had, every practice I had," she said. "It was my motivation. It pushed me through everything. I felt like, I don't want to feel that again.

"If we had won last year, I don't know if we would have worked as hard this year. It all worked out in the end."

The Kohawks knew they could have a good team this year.

"We had no doubt about it," said Harbaugh. "We came in with fire and we knew we could do it. Unfinished business is what we called it."

The Kohawks have an experienced team, with talented younger players mixed in. That was the combination that captured the first Iowa Conference tournament since Coe entered the league in 1997.

"We've come so close, and we've had great teams," said Schaefer. "We had teams that could have accomplished it, and it wasn't meant to be. And finally this year we said we're not going to accept anything less than victory."

Schaefer said winning the conference tournament is the best feeling she's had as a volleyball player at Coe, much better than setting the school record for kills.

"Records are meant to be broken, but these type of things are something that nobody can take away from us," she remarked. "I'm overjoyed, I'm ecstatic. This is what I've been working for, this is what I want.

"My team has made history," said Schaefer. "This is something that can never be taken away from us. I'm going to have this memory forever."

Schaefer led Coe with 12 kills. Harbaugh had nine kills, Meghan McClimon seven kills, Brianna Smith six kills and Rachel Bosworth six kills.

Harbaugh collected 30 assists. Alissa Wittenburg had 12 digs. Olivia Leisinger finished with four blocks.

The Kohawks feel they can make some noise in the NCAA tournament if they keep playing like this. "If we stay on top of our game and work hard, we'll definitely do some damage," said Harbaugh.

Woodin likes the way her team has been passing and playing defense. "If we keep doing that we're going to do well," she said.