Week 1 Recap: Big Individual Performances in Iowa

<p>We brought this kind of recap to our Nebraska site a couple of days ago. Now, it’s time to turn to Iowa.</p> <p>It was a big opening weekend of high school volleyball in the Hawkeye State, and we saw plenty of familiar names rise to the top of the leaderboard. This feature will break down some of Iowa’s big stat stuffers from an exciting slate of matches last weekend. There’s a lot of athletes to cover here.</p> <p>So, let’s identify a few standout performers that helped kick off Iowa’s high school season.</p> <p>&nbsp;</p> <p><strong>Payton Petersen - 5’11 OH - Dike-New Hartford - Class of 2024</strong></p> <p>Petersen is back on top again. Are we really surprised? The sophomore attacker leads all players statewide with 106 kills after Dike-New Hartford played a whopping 20 sets over the weekend. The Wolverines didn’t lose a match, either.</p> <p>&nbsp;</p> <p><strong>Abby VerBurg - 6’0 OH - Western Christian - Class of 2023</strong></p> <p>VerBurg is another one of Iowa’s leading scorers through one week of play, and she did a lot of her work across the river in Nebraska. The Wolfpack had a solid showing at the Bellevue West Invitational against some tough competition. Western Christian’s junior outside hitter showed that she’s poised to lead this storied program to yet another postseason appearance.</p> <p>&nbsp;</p> <p><strong>Monica Mirembe - 6’0 MB - Ankeny Centennial - Class of 2022</strong></p> <p>Mirembe was a dominant force on an Ankeny Centennial team that is no stranger to standout middle blockers. The senior leader tallied nearly two dozen blocks after the Jaguars’ opening gauntlet of matches.</p> <p>&nbsp;</p> <p><strong>Ava Rush - 5’4 DS/L - Atlantic - Class of 2023</strong></p> <p>Atlantic finished their opening week at a perfect 6-0, and Rush can get a lot of credit for her work at the libero spot. She finished third in the state in digs per set and almost accumulated a triple-digit total after just a single week of play.</p> <p>&nbsp;</p> [caption id="attachment_129603" align="alignright" width="200"]<img class="wp-image-129603 size-medium" src="https://prephoops-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com/pd/uploads/2021/02/Mia-kunnert-200x300.jpg" alt="" width="200" height="300" /> Kunnert[/caption] <p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id="132850" first="Mia" last="Kunnert"] - 5’8 DS/L - Wahlert Catholic - Class of 2022</strong></p> <p>One of the most ridiculous stat lines of the entire week goes to Kunnert from Wahlert Catholic. The Golden Eagles began the season with a five-set battle against Prairie, and Kunnert finished the match with an unbelievable 47 digs. 47! It would be an incredible feat if anyone topped that number this year.</p> <p>&nbsp;</p> <p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id="135807" first="Sophia" last="Armstrong"] - 5’11 MB - West Burlington - Class of 2023</strong></p> <p>It was quite a well-rounded and efficient performance for Armstrong last week. West Burlington was perfect in their 11 sets played, and the Falcons can thank their middle blocker for much of that success. Armstrong finished the week with a .500 hitting efficiency and added 2.1 blocks per set to her credit.</p> <p>&nbsp;</p> <p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id="79233" first="Meredith" last="Bahl"] - 5’11 OH/RS - Western Dubuque - Class of 2022</strong></p> <p>Bahl has such a natural connection with fellow senior [player_tooltip player_id="79259" first="Madison" last="Maahs"] for Western Dubuque. Maahs set her senior hitter to an impressive 5.6 kills per set last week, and the Bobcats are poised for more success in the coming days.</p>