Iowa Class 1A - Start To The Summer Rankings

Janesville has been the “Queens of the Court” the past few years, but with a large core of those championship teams off to play college volleyball, there will be some doors left open for a new squad to make a run and hold up the gold trophy at the end of the season. We’ll take a look into who will be the contenders to make a run in Iowa Class 1A Volleyball Start of Summer Rankings. <ol> <li style="font-weight: 400;">Tripoli</li> <li style="font-weight: 400;">East Mills</li> <li style="font-weight: 400;">Montezuma</li> <li style="font-weight: 400;">Janesville</li> <li style="font-weight: 400;">Gladbrook-Reinbeck </li> <li style="font-weight: 400;">Holy Trinity</li> <li style="font-weight: 400;">New London</li> <li style="font-weight: 400;">North Tama </li> <li style="font-weight: 400;">East Union</li> <li style="font-weight: 400;">Central Elkader</li> </ol> Tripolis has their top three attackers back, including Zoe Semelroth, the Upper Iowa recruit who is a force in the middle offensively and defensively. The Panthers have the tradition and trophy cases full of state tournament trophies. They will however will have to replace their setter and libero from last year. If they can establish a solid first contact and stay in system there is no doubt they can be a contender for the end of the year in Cedar Rapids. East Mills will be returning one of the top players in Class 1A. Alex Knop led her team in over 400 kills and was also the team leader in digs. East Mills was in the state tournament last year and they know how to get it done. They will also be returning their top two setters in Dezirae Drake and Lexi Ungry. Montezuma is full of athletes that know how to win which won’t be any different in volleyball. Iowa women’s basketball recruit Shateah Wetering will be a Senior and was one of the top kill leaders for Montezuma last year. They will also be returning their setter in Waverly Roorda. Gabby Gergen will be back for Janesville and will be running the show to some new attackers. Gergen might just be the top setter in Class 1A and again, brings the championship mentality to the court. The top two attackers have graduating, but Julia Meister and Bailey Hoff will be returning. The opening spots in the lineup will be filled by athletes who competed day in and day out of practice of some of the top athletes in the state regardless of class. In 2018, Saari Kuehl had a breakout year for Gladbrook-Reinbeck and was one of the top kill leaders in Class 1A behind Bree Thompson of Janesville who is now at Lipscomb. The Rebels were somewhat a surprise to get to the state tournament having to knock off North Tama after previous losses to them in the regular season. With Kuehl on the pin, she can take over a game and score from any spot on the court. For Holy Trinity and their tradition, this will be a year to see if they can reload with a team who will need to replace their top three attackers and libero, however replacing attackers is much easier when there are two setters with state tournament experience in Bailey Hellweg and Kassi Randolph. There are a lot of question marks heading into the season. I don’t factor in if the JV team had a remarkable record or went undefeated in conference. There are a lot of great teams who have a lot of roster spots to fill such as Le Mars Gehlen Cathlic, Harris-Lake Park, or Holy Trinity. They could have the next best group waiting in the wings. Nothing is guaranteed, but experience and having at least two hitters who can score points is essential. One All State player is great, but having another who can keep the defense honest can really change the dynamic of the game.