Early-Season Storylines in Iowa

<!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>New seasons bring with them the expected and the surprising. That's certainly the case here in Iowa for 2023. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Let's take a look at stories fitting into those categories: </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>THE EXPECTED</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Clippers Cruising</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Clear Creek Amana surprised the field last season, reaching its first-ever state championship match. Despite falling to Xavier in that contest, the Clippers returned most of their lineup and entered this fall among the favorites to win it all in Class 4A. They've handled the hype so far, still unbeaten after this weekend's championship in the Caroline Found Live Like Line event at Iowa City West. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>CCA swept 4A 10th-ranked Dallas Center-Grimes twice last month. This weekend, the Clippers topped 5A top-ranked Dowling, 5A No. 3 Ankeny, 5A No. 10 Liberty and 4A No. 15 Heelan, among others. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Drake commitment [player_tooltip player_id='168155' first='Bliss' last='Beck'] is hitting an impressive .491 with 121 kills and 33.0 blocks. Libero [player_tooltip player_id='168156' first='Meg' last='Berkland'] has 133 digs, and [player_tooltip player_id='243457' first='Emily' last='Henderson'] and Kenadi Wood have 299 assists. [player_tooltip player_id='389934' first='Averie' last='Lower'] ranks second on the team in kills (84) and third in digs (88). </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Wolverines Winning</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>The only team that might look like more of a sure thing to win a state title than CCA is Dike-New Hartford. The 2A Wolverines also remain undefeated with tournament championships Ankeny Centennial and Mount Vernon. They own victories over ranked 5A teams in Dowling, Centennial, Valley, Pleasant Valley and Waukee Northwest along with 3A No. 2 Mount Vernon and No. 7 Assumption. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Louisville pledge [player_tooltip player_id='168149' first='Payton' last='Petersen'] leads the way with 199 kills and 86 digs, while her sister, [player_tooltip player_id='168150' first='Jadyn' last='Petersen'], has 135 kills and 85 digs. Senior [player_tooltip player_id='251662' first='Maryn' last='Bixby'] (103 kills, 27.0 blocks), and sophomores [player_tooltip player_id='455738' first='Addy' last='Joslin'] (224 assists) and [player_tooltip player_id='389014' first='Abby' last='Jensen'] (73 digs) help make this the team to beat in 2A. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Wolfpack Prowling</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Western Christian needed five sets when knocking off Dike-New Hartford for last year's 2A state championship. It's defeated all of the Iowa teams on its schedule so far in '23, earning the No. 1 ranking in 3A. In fact, the Wolfpack has lost one set against in-state competition (MOC-Floyd Valley). </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Western plays quite a few matches against teams from Nebraska and South Dakota due to proximity and not being in an Iowa conference. It's 1-5 against those programs, all of them being bigger schools. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Sophomore [player_tooltip player_id='455736' first='Maggie' last='Van Schepen'] runs the show with 292 assists to go with 70 digs. Seniors Shayna Van Dyken (113) and Keana Wynja (96) along with 10th-grader Bentley Bliek (83) pace the program in kills. Another sophomore, [player_tooltip player_id='753877' first='Scarlett' last='Winterfeld'], fills the stat sheet with 106 digs, 58 kills and 15.0 blocks, while senior Haley Wielenga's 144 digs are tops on the team. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>THE SURPRISES</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Tiger Time</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Maybe we shouldn't be too surprised by ADM's fast start in '23 considering it reached a regional final last fall. Still, a 15-1 beginning stands out, especially when the lone setback came at this past weekend's Southeast Polk tournament to 5A No. 8 West Des Moines Valley, 2-1. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>The Tigers also knocked off 5As in Waukee and Council Bluffs Lincoln during the weekend as well as 4A No. 13 North Polk. The also own victories this season against currently ranked teams in Des Moines Christian (3A No. 3), Ballard (4A No. 11) and Norwalk (4A No. 6). </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Seniors Madison Siefken (260 assists) and [player_tooltip player_id='168158' first='Marissa' last='Gerleman'] (114 kills, 72 digs, 15.0 blocks) along with juniors [player_tooltip player_id='506123' first='London' last='Warmuth'] (69 kills) and [player_tooltip player_id='261081' first='Madi' last='James'] (102 digs) are standing out for ADM. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Spartans Spectacular </strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Like ADM, Grundy Center reached a regional final in '23, falling to Denver in that match. Denver handed the Spartans their one and only loss this season at this past weekend's Aplington-Parkersburg tournament before they bounded back to defeat the Cyclones in the championship match. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Grundy Center also topped 1A No. 1 Ankeny Christian twice in Aplington-Parkersburg. It has defeated ranked teams in AGWSR (1A No. 7), BCLUW (1A No. 6), South Hardin (2A No. 8), North Tama (1A No. 2) and Union Community (3A No. 5) this season as well. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Senior [player_tooltip player_id='168170' first='Carlie' last='Willis'], a Saint Cloud State commitment, ranks among the state leaders with 245 kills. Here 103 digs are second on the team. Her classmate, [player_tooltip player_id='168171' first='Ellery' last='Luhring'], has 357 assists, 82 digs and 31.0 blocks. Lucy Lebo, also a senior, paces the Spartans with 112 digs, while another 12th-grader, Shirley Monaghan, has 96 kills and 89 digs. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Stormin' Warning </strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Center Point-Urbana lost to Union in a regional championship last season. So, again, maybe we shouldn't have been overly surprised by its impressive play to date. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>It's more about who the Stormin' Pointers have knocked off this year that raises an eyebrow. They own triumphs against defending 3A champion Assumption, currently ranked No. 7, Dubuque Wahlert (3A No. 10), Sumner-Fredericksburg (2A No. 4) and Dubuque Hempstead (5A No. 15) along with Cedar Rapids Kennedy, ranked earlier this season in 5A. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Juniors [player_tooltip player_id='215389' first='Sydney' last='Maue'] (107 kills, 23.0 blocks), [player_tooltip player_id='457484' first='Logan' last='Keller'] (177 assists, 108 digs, 51 kills) and [player_tooltip player_id='730773' first='Addy' last='Tupa'] (85 kills, 114 digs) along with sophomore [player_tooltip player_id='402663' first='Jayce' last='Grennan'] (90 assists, 63 digs) are showing that CP-U has staying power beyond this season. [player_tooltip player_id='261090' first='Paige' last='Foltz'] (24.0 blocks, 47 kills) provides senior leadership and a presence at the net. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph -->