Scout Reports: Dowling-Valley 5A State Tournament

<!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>CORALVILLE, Iowa - </strong>Eighth-seeded West Des Moines Valley provided a wakeup call for No. 1 Dowling Catholic Monday here at Xtream Arena in the first-round of the Class 5A state tournament. The Maroons decided to rise and shine by sweeping the next three sets from their rival to reach Wednesday's semifinals. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Dowling is chasing the program's first title. The Tigers season ends with a 19-16 record and their second consecutive trip to state. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Here are scouting reports from players that stood out Monday followed by action photos from the match: </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:acf/evaluation-block {"name":"acf/evaluation-block","data":{"player_evaluations_0_player":["168151"],"_player_evaluations_0_player":"field_62ab9d62ecf2c","player_evaluations_0_override_profile_image":["override_image"],"_player_evaluations_0_override_profile_image":"override-player-profile-image","player_evaluations_0_player_featured_image":473674,"_player_evaluations_0_player_featured_image":"field_62f141137ead9","player_evaluations_0_not_in_database":"","_player_evaluations_0_not_in_database":"field_62aba48cecf2d","player_evaluations_0_evaluation":"Prep Dig's second-ranked '24 prospect in the state, Dean did not disappoint. I hadn't watched the Kansas recruit in person since last year's state tournament. She's developed her game and become a strong six-rotation player. She piled up 13 digs in this match to go with her match-high 17 kills. No doubt her swing is big time, but she's more than a tall girl. She's agile, athletic and skilled.","_player_evaluations_0_evaluation":"field_62aba51aecf34","player_evaluations_1_player":["189864"],"_player_evaluations_1_player":"field_62ab9d62ecf2c","player_evaluations_1_override_profile_image":["override_image"],"_player_evaluations_1_override_profile_image":"override-player-profile-image","player_evaluations_1_player_featured_image":473676,"_player_evaluations_1_player_featured_image":"field_62f141137ead9","player_evaluations_1_not_in_database":"","_player_evaluations_1_not_in_database":"field_62aba48cecf2d","player_evaluations_1_evaluation":"The Iowa State commitment led the Maroons with 21 digs to go with four assists. She's a wall in the back row, gliding effortlessly into positioning herself to receive. She calms down incoming pace and turns it into usable passes. Dowling stays in system so often because of her efforts. Grant leads vocally and by example. She's a complete player.","_player_evaluations_1_evaluation":"field_62aba51aecf34","player_evaluations_2_player":["215412"],"_player_evaluations_2_player":"field_62ab9d62ecf2c","player_evaluations_2_override_profile_image":["override_image"],"_player_evaluations_2_override_profile_image":"override-player-profile-image","player_evaluations_2_player_featured_image":473688,"_player_evaluations_2_player_featured_image":"field_62f141137ead9","player_evaluations_2_not_in_database":"","_player_evaluations_2_not_in_database":"field_62aba48cecf2d","player_evaluations_2_evaluation":"Rogers should be receiving a lot of attention on the recruiting trail as one of the state's top setters. The junior boasts all the traits that are important at the position, including delivering soft, accurate sets and sharing a good connection with her hitters. She's unusually tall for a setter and also benefits from her long arms. She's dangerous in being able to dump the ball into openings, kill it or set teammates. She makes good decisions with those options.","_player_evaluations_2_evaluation":"field_62aba51aecf34","player_evaluations_3_player":["215728"],"_player_evaluations_3_player":"field_62ab9d62ecf2c","player_evaluations_3_override_profile_image":["override_image"],"_player_evaluations_3_override_profile_image":"override-player-profile-image","player_evaluations_3_player_featured_image":473698,"_player_evaluations_3_player_featured_image":"field_62f141137ead9","player_evaluations_3_not_in_database":"","_player_evaluations_3_not_in_database":"field_62aba48cecf2d","player_evaluations_3_evaluation":"Nelson is overshadowed by all of the outstanding talent on the Maroon roster but she's really good and very important to the team's success. The junior's swing complements her teammates skill sets. She succeeds with excellent athleticism that manifests itself in explosion off the floor, impressive vertical jumping and a powerful swing.","_player_evaluations_3_evaluation":"field_62aba51aecf34","player_evaluations_4_player":["215427"],"_player_evaluations_4_player":"field_62ab9d62ecf2c","player_evaluations_4_override_profile_image":["override_image"],"_player_evaluations_4_override_profile_image":"override-player-profile-image","player_evaluations_4_player_featured_image":473699,"_player_evaluations_4_player_featured_image":"field_62f141137ead9","player_evaluations_4_not_in_database":"","_player_evaluations_4_not_in_database":"field_62aba48cecf2d","player_evaluations_4_evaluation":"Groeteke impressed me this summer when I saw her play club ball. She stood out again when competing at a Prep Dig showcase this summer in Clive. The sophomore is an important contributor already for Dowling with a real high ceiling. The left-hander has long arms, good leaping ability and a big swing. She's one to watch going forward.","_player_evaluations_4_evaluation":"field_62aba51aecf34","player_evaluations_5_player":["261075"],"_player_evaluations_5_player":"field_62ab9d62ecf2c","player_evaluations_5_override_profile_image":["override_image"],"_player_evaluations_5_override_profile_image":"override-player-profile-image","player_evaluations_5_player_featured_image":471175,"_player_evaluations_5_player_featured_image":"field_62f141137ead9","player_evaluations_5_not_in_database":"","_player_evaluations_5_not_in_database":"field_62aba48cecf2d","player_evaluations_5_evaluation":"This was my second time in a week watching Valley. I saw the Tigers knock off Iowa City High in a regional final last Tuesday. Wieland shined when I saw her playing in the club regionals in Des Moines this past spring. She took a step forward from there when watching her last week. She solidified my high opinion of her on Monday. She's just a really sound, all-around volleyball player. She swings it well from the outside and is very capable in the back row. Colleges should have been involved yesterday.","_player_evaluations_5_evaluation":"field_62aba51aecf34","player_evaluations_6_not_in_database":["not_in_db"],"_player_evaluations_6_not_in_database":"field_62aba48cecf2d","player_evaluations_6_player_details_selected_featured_image":471221,"_player_evaluations_6_player_details_selected_featured_image":"field_62cca28ffa4e7","player_evaluations_6_player_details_player_name":"Thia Raridon","_player_evaluations_6_player_details_player_name":"field_62aba4c9ecf2f","player_evaluations_6_player_details_graduating_class":"2027","_player_evaluations_6_player_details_graduating_class":"field_62aba4ddecf30","player_evaluations_6_player_details_height":"5'9u0022","_player_evaluations_6_player_details_height":"field_62aba4e8ecf31","player_evaluations_6_player_details_position":"32564","_player_evaluations_6_player_details_position":"field_62aba4f0ecf32","player_evaluations_6_player_details_school":"West Des Moines Valley ","_player_evaluations_6_player_details_school":"field_62aba4fdecf33","player_evaluations_6_player_details_club_team":"","_player_evaluations_6_player_details_club_team":"field_62d20e723441a","player_evaluations_6_player_details":"","_player_evaluations_6_player_details":"field_62aba4afecf2e","player_evaluations_6_evaluation":"Raridon popped out right away last week when I saw Valley face City. I hadn't heard a lot about here before but the combination of her last name's Tiger lineage and her easily apparent athleticism stood out right away. She swings with a purpose and with power. She leaps well, which helps her hit and hold up well defensively at the net. The future is bright and the ceiling significant for Raridon.","_player_evaluations_6_evaluation":"field_62aba51aecf34","player_evaluations":7,"_player_evaluations":"field_62aba7547dc44"},"mode":"edit","alignText":"left","anchor":"acf-block-6541271b1c511"} /-->