Mississippi Athletic Conference ’23 Season Preview

<!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><a href="https://prepdig.com/2023/07/central-iowa-metro-league-23-season-preview/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">CIML '23 Season Preview</a> </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>While the official start of the Iowa high school volleyball season hasn't arrived, teams around the state are already preparing for it. A new campaign is coming into focus as we hit mid-July.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>In getting ready for a new season, it's good to look back. While we're sure to witness breakout performances from individuals and teams within our borders, plenty of familiar faces return.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>I considered different ways to go about this process, landing on organization of evaluations by conference. Beating programs within close proximity of you has never gone out of style.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>The Mississippi Athletic Conference long has been strong league. Davenport Assumption won it all in 3A last fall. Pleasant Valley captured the Class 5A crown two years ago. North Scott has reached the last three state tournaments. Bettendorf won back-to-back Iowa big-school titles last decade and has reached state 11 times. Davenport public schools own a combined 19 state-tournament berths with each winning a championship. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>The league should be tough again in 2023. Pleasant Valley, North Scott and Assumption all could be in the hunt for a state title this fall. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Let's Get Another</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Assumption finally reached the mountain top after a long stretch of talented teams not quite getting there. It lost some big-time performers to graduation but a good group returns. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>With all-everything Ava Schubert off competing at Tennessee Tech, the Knights will rely heavily on her younger sister, [player_tooltip player_id='215761' first='Ellie' last='Schubert'], and senior [player_tooltip player_id='251630' first='Maggie' last='Johnson']. That duo will have plenty of help in defending their MAC title. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>[player_tooltip player_id='215761' first='Ellie' last='Schubert'], a setter, handed out an impressive 1,047 assists as a sophomore in '22. Johnson produced 243 kills with 106 digs and 31.0 blocks. Add in junior [player_tooltip player_id='215436' first='Dru' last='Dorsey'] (177 kills, 173 digs), rising sophomore middle [player_tooltip player_id='230661' first='Ellah' last='Derrer'] (203 kills, 72.0 blocks) and emerging players coming up through the program, and you have a recipe for another run. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Championship Caliber</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Pleasant Valley came up a win short in pursuing its second consecutive 5A championship last season, falling in four sets against Iowa City Liberty. The Spartans have advanced to the state tournament four years running, showing they're consistently in the hunt to win it all. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Pleasant Valley lost a lot. It graduated key players in Halle Vice (Marquette Basketball), Chloe Cline (Evansville Volleyball), Siena Roethler (Catawba College Volleyball) and Emily Goodpaster (Case Western Reserve Volleyball). </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>That's the bad news. The good news is that Molly Albrecht returns after her 332 digs led the squad in '22. MH/RS [player_tooltip player_id='243182' first='Isabelle' last='Kremer'] also comes back following a freshman campaign that saw her deliver 123 kills and 45.0 blocks. Opportunities are aplenty for strong players coming up through the program. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>The Next Step</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>North Scott entered last year's state tournament as the second seed and knocked off Bondurant-Farrar in the quarterfinals. The [program_tooltip program_id='431978' first='[program_tooltip program_id='431978' first='Lancers' last='']' last=''] bowed out in the semis, losing a four-setter to No. 6 Clear Creek Amana. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Like PV, North Scott is shooting for its fifth consecutive state tournament berth. It could win the school's second state title and first since 1985. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Prep Dig's <a href="https://prepdig.com/iowa/rankings/2024-rankings/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">top-ranked player</a> in the state's '25 Class and recent Creighton verbal commitment, Abby Hayes, leads the way after earning first-team all-state laurels from the IGCA. She posted 360 kills, 188 digs and 27.0 blocks. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>[player_tooltip player_id='251673' first='Sydney' last='Skarich'] will be building upon a super junior campaign, when she collected 266 kills, 281 digs and 27.0 blocks. Her classmate, Emma Schermerhorn, is back after dishing out 375 assists a year ago. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>-Bettendorf seeks a move up the standings after checking in fourth last season. Prep Dig's No. 44 in the state's '25 Class, [player_tooltip player_id='179121' first='Adalyn' last='Galbraith'], is a well-rounded middle on what should be a team with plenty of new faces in bigger roles...Muscatine senior Avery Schroeder is a super setter as evidenced by her 599 assists in '22. Classmate Brylee Seaman (223 kills) is one of her favorite targets...Clinton's Amelia Tubbs is a breakout candidate for '23. The same could be said for Central DeWitt's [player_tooltip player_id='503389' first='Briana' last='Clark'] ('26)...Davenport Central's Jillian Darland is a very good setter and '25 [player_tooltip player_id='508627' first='Stella' last='Smith'] is a rising two-way player...Addison Miller ('24) of Davenport North is an all-rotation player. Davenport West's Rachel Ehlers ('25) also contributes from all spots on the court. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph -->