Iowa Postseason Tea: The Upsets, Must Watch Regional Semifinals

<!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Got a game, got a chance.&nbsp; Iowa teams are taking advantage of their chance to advance in the road to Xtream Arena in Coralville where the state tournament will be held October 30-November 2.&nbsp; We are looking at some upsets so far, who could be on upset alert, and what can we look for in the regional finals!</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>The Upsets</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Underwood and Treynor have had plenty of rivalry games in a variety of sports.  Volleyball is no different.  Treynor was the top seed in the region with a 30-4 record, however Underwood was coming in with a winning streak and nothing to lose, taking on their rival.  [player_tooltip player_id='168167' first='Alizabeth' last='Jacobsen'] is back in the lineup and surpassed 1,000 kills in her career after having 17 kills in a three set sweep.  Class 2A, Region 3 is wide open with the four teams remaining are Underwood (12-21) vs. Tri Center Neola (25-9) and Eddyville-Blakesburg-Fremont (24-7) vs. Pleasantville (27-11).  EBF are led by Northern Iowa commits in [player_tooltip player_id='216055' first='Kate' last='Shafer'] and [player_tooltip player_id='215426' first='Molly' last='Shafer'] where they have played in state volleyball and basketball tournaments - they could now be the favorite in this region. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:embed {"url":"https://x.com/UwoodEaglesVB/status/1714820972459520265?s=20","type":"rich","providerNameSlug":"twitter","responsive":true} --> <figure class="wp-block-embed is-type-rich is-provider-twitter wp-block-embed-twitter"><div class="wp-block-embed__wrapper"> https://x.com/UwoodEaglesVB/status/1714820972459520265?s=20 </div></figure> <!-- /wp:embed --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Staying in Class 2A, Region 7 is a gauntlet of talented teams where Denver, Iowa City Regina, and Lisbon would be the leaders.&nbsp; However, West Branch had revenge on the mind against Regina looking to avenge an earlier five set loss.&nbsp; The Bears were led by a balanced attack of [player_tooltip player_id='168181' first='Alyse' last='Klinkkammer'], Emily Coleman, Kya Montgomery, and Jalynn Falco with double digit kills.&nbsp; They will take on Lisbon where they played in the Lisbon Tournament earlier this season, but have not faced them yet.&nbsp;&nbsp;</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Class 4A, Region 7 started with a mild upset with Pella defeating Bondurant-Farrar on the road with a four set win.&nbsp; Sophomore [player_tooltip player_id='389942' first='Katie' last='Scheckel'] had quite a night, leading the Dutch in assists, kills, and digs. They will take on Ballard in a regional semifinal where the winner will take on the winner of Marion and Western Dubuque.&nbsp;&nbsp;</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Must Watch Matches</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>The Battle of Orange City -</strong> MOC Floyd Valley is technically the higher seed over Unity Christian.  These two Orange City squads will have quite a crowd and huge match on their hands as they look to advance to the regional final.  Unity has the experience, MOC has their home court, will be a rocking night in OC. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Class 3A - Region 4 - New Hampton vs. Osage</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Osage has a long string of consecutive state tournament runs.&nbsp; They advanced to state with a win over Dubuque Wahlert in 2022.&nbsp; This year they aren't the top seed in their region and will go on the road to take on New Hampton who is 30-5.&nbsp; The Chickasaws have a loaded senior class that is led by [player_tooltip player_id='168159' first='Marissa' last='Cahoy'] who has nearly 300 kills on the season and leads the team in blocks as well.&nbsp;</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Class 4A - Region 1 - Sioux City Heelan vs. Sioux Center</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Sioux Center was the Class 3A runner up in 2022 and bumped up a class, still a little odd to&nbsp; see Sioux Center in Class 4A.&nbsp; They will take on Sioux City Heelan who has been to the past two state tournaments.&nbsp; These two teams haven't played each other this season, but have been at some of the same tournaments.&nbsp; This will be a fun match that I can only imagine will be a ruckus crowd, great atmosphere for high school volleyball.&nbsp;</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Class 4A - Region 4 - Carlisle vs. Norwalk</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>This region is too close to call.&nbsp; Carlisle (24-7) will head to Norwalk (24-14).&nbsp; Norwalk has a bit of a tougher schedule with some big wins that would give them the edge in getting the homecourt.&nbsp; Carlisle will come into the match with a 1-2 punch of Juniors in Ashlee AK Christensen and [player_tooltip player_id='215424' first='Sydney' last='Light'] - the two have combined for over 500 kills.&nbsp; The Wildcats will be preparing for a heavy dose of [player_tooltip player_id='168192' first='Noelle' last='Sutcliffe'] who is one of the top outside hitters in Class 4A for Norwalk and is the school's all time leader in kills.&nbsp;</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Class 5A - Region 3 - Sioux City East vs. Sioux City North </strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Heelan won't be the only gym rocking tonight in SIoux City. East vs. North will be going head to head with a spot in the regional finals on the line.&nbsp; East will be the host where they have a 3-0 record against North this year alone.&nbsp; With the fourth time be the charm for the Stars?&nbsp; [player_tooltip player_id='389834' first='Ava' last='Lloyd'], an electric outside hitter will be a key player for North where she has the ability to score plenty of points.&nbsp;</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Class 5A - Region 6 - Iowa City vs. Muscatine</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>This is going to be an electric matchup tonight in Iowa City.&nbsp; City High is 22-9 with Muscatine coming in at 23-10.&nbsp; The Little Hawks are led by the outside duo of [player_tooltip player_id='251664' first='Claire' last='Ernst'] and [player_tooltip player_id='215434' first='Emmy' last='McComas'] where Muscatine has the Seaman girls.&nbsp; Senior, Brylee Seaman has over 300 kills and was named 1st Team All MAC while freshman, Belle Seaman has made quite a statement this season for the Class of 2027 with over 800 assists and nearly 50 kills.&nbsp;&nbsp;</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph -->