Top Players In Iowa's 99 Counties - The Northern Border

I'm featuring all of Iowa.  Yes, going through each county and finding the top player.  This will be a series over the next week working from Lyon County in Northwest Iowa all the way down to Lee County in the Southeast tip.     How did this come together? I used this link to look at what school districts are in what counties. I knew some school districts covered plenty of area, but some represented four counties so I opted for where the high school was located. I even reached out to some old friends native to that part of Iowa to clarify what county a specific school would be associated with. A great way to catch up and talk about Iowa geography.   <a href="https://educateiowa.gov/sites/default/files/2023-04/2023-2024IowaPublicSchoolDistrictMap24x36.pdf">Iowa Counties and School Districts</a>   Being a Winnebago county native, I actually lived across the street from Hancock county.  Looking through all of the school districts and remembering some of the “old high schools” that have now been consolidated.  Going through these areas on paper and remembering some of the old RAGBRAI routes I was able to be on.  Writing articles like this are always a reminder of how grateful I am to be an Iowa native and grow up with that small town atmosphere when it comes to supporting the schools.     We're starting with the Northern border, essentially Highway 9 across the state. Here are the best of the county.   <figure class="wp-block-image size-large"><img src="https://prepdig.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/5/2023/11/iowa-county-map.gif?w=750" alt="" class="wp-image-482673" /></figure>   Lyon County   Jordyn Aeschliman - West Lyon - Class of 2025   We're starting in the corner of Iowa where there is always plenty of talent between West Lyon, Central Lyon, and George-Little Rock.  Lyon county always has basketball power and football teams here know the way to “The Dome”.  Aesschliman is a college prospect I had never seen until doing some research for this article.  6'3, left-handed, and a really smooth swing, she is a big time scorer and shut down blocker.  She was named Class 3A All District and would be an impact player at the next level, and quite frankly a steal.    Osceola County   Grace Sayler - Sibley-Ochedan - Class of 2026   Sayler is only a sophomore and had nearly 100 kills and 200 digs for the Generals while being named Honorable Mention All Siouxland.    Dickinson County   Fran Travis - Spirit Lake - Class of 2024   Spirit Lake has had some strong teams out of the Lakes Conference.  Travis was a dominant player for the Indians where she had 324 kills on the season and hit nearly .400.  She will continue volleyball and track at Dordt University.    Emmet County   [player_tooltip player_id='489415' first='Haley' last='Nissen'] - Estherville-Lincoln-Central - Class of 2025   ELC, The Midgets.  ELC had a huge season with over 30 wins and that was large in part to [player_tooltip player_id='489415' first='Haley' last='Nissen'].  She is a 6'2 attacker who can score from anywhere and I'm so excited to see her compete live at the Iowa Top 250 on December 10.  This past season, Nissen was 1st Team All Lakes and was an All District pick with nearly 400 kills and over 200 digs.    Kossuth County   [player_tooltip player_id='257715' first='Najolie' last='Price'] - Algona - Class of 2024   Price was the top player for Algona where she was All NCC and was a Class 3A West District pick.  She was a force at the net with over 200 kills and nearly 100 blocks.  She is an uncommitted 2024.    Winnebago County   Jalyn Hovenga - Forest City - Class of 2024   Forest City and Hovenga had a big season where she helped lead the Indians to a Top of Iowa West crown and a regional final appearance.  She was named TOI West Player of the Year, All District, and 4th Team All State where she had nearly 300 kills and 200 digs.    Worth County   Zari McDonough - Central Springs - Class of 2025   Worth County, home to the final stop before Minnesota, the casino with the barn.  Central Springs is located in Manly which is in Worth County.  Zari McDonough was a do it all setter for Central Springs where she was named Top of Iowa East Player of the Year with over 600 assists.  This was a balanced conference with the likes of Osage and St. Ansgar who was a state tournament participant.    Mitchell County   Aspen Falk - St. Ansgar - Class of 2024   Mitchell County has been dominated by Osage with plenty of hardware throughout the years including a state title in 2020.  The Green Devils won the conference, but it was St. Ansgar advancing to the Class 1A state tournament and a huge reason behind that was Aspen Falk who was named Class 1A 1st Team All State where she had over 650 assists and 76 kills.     Howard County   Olivia Johnson - Cresco - Class of 2025   Cresco, great memories of when RAGBRAI went through here.  Olivia Johnson was a big time player for the Cadets where she had over 250 kills and 250 digs where she was named 1st Team All NEIC.    Winneshiek   Ellie Rolfs - Decorah - Class of 2025   Decorah has made some strides in their program the past couple of years and in 2023, they have a scrappy libero in Ellie Rolfs.  Rolfs had nearly 300 digs and was 1st Team All NEIC.  Seeing highlight videos of her, she shows a really controlled platform and was able to show consistency from serve receive to taking pace off a hard swing. Definitely one to have on the radar.    Allamakee   Willa Troendle and Elle Wilkins - Waukon - Class of 2026   This sophomore duo teamed up for plenty of assist to kill combinations with Wilkins notching over 350 assists and Troendle who averaged over four kills per set.  They were both 2nd Team All NEIC.

I'm featuring all of Iowa. Yes, going through each county and finding the top player. This will be a series over the next week working from Lyon County in Northwest Iowa all the way down to Lee County in the Southeast tip.