PART 1: Familiar and New Faces Building A Big Offseason To Help High School Teams This Fall

There are teams who start to build teams in the offseason who will be sure to make major waves come high school season. Some are familiar names, others are maybe new to the scene who could surprise some people. Take a look at a few schools who are building the case for a major 2020 season. The Familiar Faces Osage [caption id="attachment_86863" align="alignright" width="203"] Bobinet of Osage[/caption] Osage returns virtually their whole lineup which includes two of the top outside hitters in the state with Dani Johnson and [player_tooltip player_id="41248" first="Paige" last="Kisley"]. Another year of experience for some of their underclassmen in [player_tooltip player_id="42440" first="Kaebre" last="Sullivan"], [player_tooltip player_id="79248" first="Meredith" last="Street"], and [player_tooltip player_id="79667" first="Claudia" last="Aschenbrenner"] will also be ones to watch with Street being so versatile she contributes from everywhere. Elle Bobinet will quarterback the offense once again after having over 1,000 assists in 2019. The Green Devils also have a tough schedule to prepare them for tournament time. There is a good chance that Osage could move back to Class 3A after spending last season in Class 2A. Assumption (Title Photo) Assumption has had two heartbreaking losses at the state tournament, but will be returning plenty of talent in 2020. MAC Player of the Year [player_tooltip player_id="79708" first="Ava" last="Schubert"] is back on the right side with a major left handed swing as is her sister, [player_tooltip player_id="17244" first="Emma" last="Schubert"] on the pin. They combined for nearly 550 kills. One athlete to keep tabs on would be middle blocker Claire Smith who has been impressive this club season and is coming off of 150 kills, hitting nearly .350 in 2019. Xavier These athletes are coming back extremely hungry after this Senior class made it to the championship game two years ago and got upset in the state quarterfinals by Western Dubuque last year. The Seniors include [player_tooltip player_id="17216" first="Eve" last="Magill"] (Creighton), [player_tooltip player_id="17241" first="Jaz" last="Yamilkoski"] (Tennessee Tech), [player_tooltip player_id="17226" first="Elyse" last="Winter"], and [player_tooltip player_id="41322" first="Kelsey" last="Koberg"] being a strong core of the group. A player who could be on the radar is Annika Ivester who could be a major force out of the middle. [caption id="attachment_70540" align="alignright" width="368"] [player_tooltip player_id="17214" first="Phyona" last="Schrader"][/caption] Ankeny Ankeny finished in the final four of Class 5A and will be bringing back a ton of firepower. [player_tooltip player_id="17214" first="Phyona" last="Schrader"] is a special player for the Hawks as a 6’2 left handed offensive setter while she’s made great connections McKenna Scheib and upstart Sophomore [player_tooltip player_id="79234" first="Ava" last="Reynolds"]. Schrader, the Notre Dame commit is capable of taking over a game herself with her ability to dish or swing whenever she is in the front row. New Teams To Watch For Underwood The “U” was so close to getting to Cedar Rapids last year with a 3-2 loss to Grundy Center in a Regional final. They will lose middle blocker, [player_tooltip player_id="78427" first="Lauren" last="Brown"] who will play volleyball at Central, but they will reserve their point scoring pins in [player_tooltip player_id="79017" first="Macy" last="Vanfossan"] and [player_tooltip player_id="79018" first="Zoe" last="Rus"] who combined for nearly 700 kills. Tough to stop one dominant pin, but two is a different story especially when both of these athletes can play on either pin and attack from the back court. MOC-Floyd Valley The Dutch did not make it to Cedar Rapids last year, but will return a strong core of their lineup who will be a favorite out of Northwest Iowa. Jazlin De Haan had nearly 500 kills by herself last year and will be entering her Senior year. The 5’11 outside hitter has verbally committed to play at Wayne State. Their next kill leader is Taryn Nothem and will return their setter, Carla Martinez. This squad will be full of experience and Senior leadership. Denver The Cyclones punched their ticket to the state basketball tournament this winter and maybe they can do the same for volleyball this upcoming season. Denver returns their whole team from a season where they advanced to the regional final. Allison Bonnette will be back for her Junior season after racking up 470 kills as a Sophomore. Denver is part of the NICL which is the top small school conference for volleyball in the state. Urbandale Yes, Urbandale. Central Iowa has been dominated by Dowling, Valley, Waukee, and the Ankeny schools the past couple years with those teams being perennial state contenders. Urbandale returns a big core of their roster which includes one of the top Freshmen from this past season. [player_tooltip player_id="79678" first="Lily" last="Dykstra"] will be the next big name to rise out Central Iowa after having a season with over 300 kills and 200 digs. She is primed for a major Sophomore season!