Players to watch in the 712 Area Code: Missouri River Conference!

A big chunk of the 712 area code is the Missouri River Conference. This conference consists of Bishop Heelan, Council Bluffs Thomas Jefferson, Council Bluffs Abraham Lincoln, LeMars, Sergeant Bluff-Luton, Sioux City East, Sioux City West, and Sioux City North. Lots of great players coming back from this conference for the 2020 season. Bishop Heelan Bishop Heelan is losing three seniors this year, including their libero. They have five juniors returning to lend stability to the team and hopefully some great leadership. They will be returning their top hitter, Avery Nelson, their setter, Ellie Gengler, their top blocker, Grace Nelson, their top in aces, Anesa Davenport, and their most consistent server, again, Ellie Gengler. Council Bluffs Thomas Jefferson Thomas Jefferson lost 8 seniors from their varsity squad in 2020 and their top hitter to a transfer. They have also lost their coach who will be replaced by Darion White at the helm of this team in the fall of 2020. They have to replace their top two outsides, their setter, their libero, both of their middles, and three defensive specialists. They have a DS who is actually a setter in Chloe Alley and a right-side hitter who could transition into an effective OH in Ellie Perrine. These are the two returning players who have the experience and skill to lead this team, potentially. Faith Christensen is a sophomore who should provide stability and skill to the back row for the Jackets. Another player to keep your eye on is Samara Alcarez who should see a lot more playing time as MH for the Jackets in the 2020 season. Council Bluffs Abraham Lincoln Abraham Lincoln has graduated nine really good players in 2020 that they will have to find replacements for from a very deep field of talent. They graduated their top two hitters, their libero, their setter, and if that doesn’t seem overwhelming enough there were 5 more supporting members of this state-qualifying team that are also gone. They have a few hitters listed on their roster that will be counted on to contribute more to make up what they have lost this year. Sierrah Beaman, Jillian Shanks, and Baylie Girres are all listed as OHs on the Lynx roster and could fill the void left by all of those graduating athletes. [player_tooltip player_id="92624" first="Kayla" last="Schliefman"] and [player_tooltip player_id="79683" first="Azaria" last="Green"] could be able to hold down the middle next season with Kerrigan Baxter or Savannah Maisel setting things up for the Lynx in the fall of 2020. LeMars LeMars is losing four seniors including Kady Leusink, played 97 of 87 sets for the Bulldogs as a right-side hitter, Brooke Haage, played 97 of 97 sets as the setter, Maddi Pippett, played 90 of 97 sets as a MH, and Jacenta Sargosson played 97 of 97 sets as an OH. That leaves some positions to fill. Returning they have [player_tooltip player_id="41243" first="Pypr" last="Stoeffler"] who is the top hitter from last season and one of the best hitters in the state of Iowa, Libby Leraas, the only other setter listed on the roster for LeMars, Kylie Dreckman, a 6’ MH who played in all of their sets last season, Alivia VanOtterloo a DS who played in all 97 sets last season. Looks like they need some right-side hitters to complete their roster for next fall. Sergeant Bluff-Luton Sergeant Bluff-Luton is losing four really big seniors from their roster this year. Allyson Hertz, a DS who played in all 104 sets, [player_tooltip player_id="78417" first="Elle" last="Sneller"], a 6’1" OH who was the second-best hitter and the best blocker on the team last season, [player_tooltip player_id="40889" first="Kenzie" last="Foley"], a 6’ OH who was the top hitter on this squad and third-best blocker, and Regina Rogers, a 5’8" right who played in all 104 sets last season, was the 3rd highest hitter, and 2nd best blocker. Players to watch next fall are Alivia Wolf for her exceptional serving consistency and aces. Emma Salker had the highest aces for this team last season, the third-highest number of blocks, and was the fourth-best hitter. With the top three hitters graduated, I am sure she will step up to fill some of the void left by her teammates. Madison Wilcoxon will be returning to set for her junior year. She set all last season and I am sure will keep things together through this transition time for her team. [player_tooltip player_id="41249" first="Mia" last="Gamet"], L/DS class of 2021, will also be returning along with Alivia Wolf in the back row. Sioux City East Sioux City East is only losing one senior this year. Returning players will be Lineya Wells, the OH with the highest kills last season, and Riley Donahue, another OH with the second-highest kills and the most digs last season. Also returning will be Alex Radcliffe, the player with the third-highest kills and second-highest blocks last season. Taylor Drent will also be back with the most blocks and fourth-highest number of kills on the team. Sioux City North Sioux City North only loses one senior this year and will have all the rest of the roster return for another season. Ysabella Arredondo will return with the highest kills last season. Avery Beller returns with the highest digs from last season. Olivia O'Brien had the second-highest digs and the most aces with 44 last season. Courtney Johnson will also be back with the most combined blocks last season. Sioux City West Sioux City West loses six seniors this year. Happily, they are returning Holly Duax, a 5'8" MH who was 2nd highest in blocks and 3rd highest in kills following the seniors. They return Yuriczi Montes, a 5'11" MH, with the most blocks. They also return a really good server in Eneyada Vasquez with a 93.8 serve efficiency and 13 aces.