Upsets, Big Matches, and Leaders To Know In Iowa

Miss a week, miss a lot. Iowa girls high school volleyball has been a series of upsets, teams on the rise, and musical chairs of the number one spot. Here are just a few storylines and highlights to note of the past few weeks that can be a glimpse of what is to come for October.   The Musical Chairs of #1 Class 5A has had Valley, Cedar Falls, and now Dowling. The Maroons have had some major wins which include Valley twice, Ankeny twice, and Marian Catholic out of Omaha who is traditionally a strong Nebraska program. Sergeant Bluff-Luton has moved into the number one spot in Class 4A after beating defending Class 2A state champion and current #1 ranked squad in 2A in Western Christian. Last night, the number one team in Class 3A got knocked down after in five sets 16-14 to a rising Beckman squad. Osage is ranked #2 in 3A with big wins over Cedar Falls, Dike-New Hartford, Waverly-Shell Rock, and Clarion-Goldfield Dows, and Denver. The Green Devils have yet to drop a set and will have a rigorous schedule this weekend when they head to Cedar Falls Tournament.   River Queens On The Rise Clinton has been on fire the past two weeks winning 11 of their past 13. With their two losses coming to Assumption and Xavier, they have locked in big wins against state tournament teams Western Dubuque, Union, and North Scott. They have a big conference match up with Assumption on September 29. [caption id="attachment_109887" align="aligncenter" width="401"]<img class=" wp-image-109887" src="https://prephoops-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com/pd/uploads/2020/09/DSC02727.jpg" alt="" width="401" height="267" /> Pleasant Valley[/caption] A Quick Look Ahead There is a potential big conference matchup brewing between Wilton and West Liberty in the River Valley Conference. As of today (9/23), #7 in 3A West Liberty is 16-0 without dropping a set and Wilton is sitting at #3 in Class 2A at 21-0, recently defeating a previously unbeaten Assumption team at the Clinton tournament. Heading into October teams will be clawing and scratching to get a favorable regional, especially teams who are in the same geographical area. Each weekend is an adventure with tournaments featuring top teams in the state. Mount Vernon will be hosting Valley, North Scott, Xavier, and Pleasant Valley. PV is still undefeated and will see a major test against top squads in Class 3A, 4A, and 5A. [caption id="attachment_109886" align="aligncenter" width="477"]<img class=" wp-image-109886" src="https://prephoops-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com/pd/uploads/2020/09/DSC00355.jpg" alt="" width="477" height="318" /> DNH[/caption] Cedar Valley Squads Through the 1A and 2A Rankings The Cedar Valley traditionally has the top small school volleyball in the state. This year is no difference with multiple ranked teams. For most of these teams, it’s a matter of which way they have to go to get to Cedar Rapids. Last year, Union upset Dike-New Hartford in Class 3A to get to Cedar Rapids and eventually finish in the final four. Here is where they stand: Class 1A - #2 Wapsie Valley, #4 Janesville, #6 Gladbrook-Reinbeck Class 2A - #2 Dike-New Hartford, #8 Denver, #9 Sumner-Fred, #10 Jesup, #13 Hudson   The Leaders For most teams, they are 50 sets into a season and from there you can start seeing leaders with comparable statistics. Here are a few notable leaders throughout the state: [caption id="attachment_108296" align="aligncenter" width="422"]<img class=" wp-image-108296" src="https://prephoops-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com/pd/uploads/2020/09/DSC00270.jpg" alt="" width="422" height="281" /> Maahs[/caption] Assists [player_tooltip player_id="79259" first="Madison" last="Maahs"] - Western Dubuque Maahs was so key in WD’s run to the state tournament last season and seeing her live at the Mount Vernon tournament earlier in the year, she is has been so active being able to get her hands to the ball and to her attackers. She has been without All State outside hitter [player_tooltip player_id="79233" first="Meredith" last="Bahl"] who has been out with an injury, but watchout when the Bobcats are at 100% <img class=" wp-image-108295 aligncenter" src="https://prephoops-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com/pd/uploads/2020/09/DSC00213.jpg" alt="" width="422" height="281" /> Kills [player_tooltip player_id="79237" first="Avery" last="Beckett"] - Waverly-Shell Rock The South Dakota commit is building off a breakout Sophomore year to be one of the top attackers in the state as a Junior. Beckett is the go to attacker for the Go-Hawks, connecting extremely well with setter Sophie Sedgwick. She is contacting high and has a bag of tricks to go with it from being able to pin point different spots all over the court to score points. <img class=" wp-image-109885 aligncenter" src="https://prephoops-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com/pd/uploads/2020/09/DSC03290.jpg" alt="" width="399" height="266" /> Blocks [player_tooltip player_id="17243" first="Ashlynn" last="Kuhn"] - Hudson Kuhn will be heading to Drake next year and has been one of the most dominant middle blockers in the state for the Class of 2021. She is extremely quick and dynamic and has a style that just allows her to beat the other side of the net with her speed and IQ. Blocking is so much more than being tall and jumping high. Kuhn could be considered undersized as a middle blocker, but her athleticism and high IQ makes her so lethal out of the middle.   Hitting Efficiency [player_tooltip player_id="79266" first="Carly" last="Puffer"] - Wilton Not surprised by this at all, Puffer is smart, athletic, and knows how to score points. [player_tooltip player_id="79243" first="Kelsey" last="Drake"] and [player_tooltip player_id="79247" first="Ella" last="Caffery"] led the Beavers to the state tournament last year and now with [player_tooltip player_id="79266" first="Carly" last="Puffer"] added to the mix in the middle they are extra dangerous and will be fun to see how far they can go. This core group are only Juniors.