Shoutouts Through Week 1 of The IA High School Volleyball Season

<!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Week one is complete in the world of Iowa high school volleyball.&nbsp; Teams competing in quads during the week, we had our first weekend of Saturday tournaments, and the prep continues as the conference season starts.&nbsp; There is always plenty of movement of teams, some “upsets”, and teams looking to make statements.&nbsp; Here are a few shoutouts in the Iowa high school volleyball world.&nbsp;&nbsp;</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:embed {"url":"https://x.com/AnkenyFanatic/status/1830729768125255745","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/AnkenyFanatic/status/1830729768125255745 </div></figure> <!-- /wp:embed --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Ankeny Christian Wins Ankeny Centennial Invite</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>This tournament was wide open and I had Pleasant Valley, Dowling, or one of the Ankeny schools finishing at the top.&nbsp; But what about Ankeny Christian?&nbsp; This team would defeat Waukee in the quarterfinals, followed up with a three set thrilling win over Ankeny, and took home the title with another three set win over Dowling.&nbsp; The Eagles have won the past two Class 1A state titles and will be looking for a third.&nbsp; This team is so solid with a senior class who has won plenty of matches together.&nbsp; [player_tooltip player_id='506115' first='Macey' last='Nehring'] leads the squad with a dependable first contact and is scoring points as well with 66 kills so far.&nbsp; Cedarville commit, [player_tooltip player_id='215463' first='Carley' last='Craighead'] leads the team in kills with 86.&nbsp; [player_tooltip player_id='215462' first='Katie' last='Quick'] is doing a little bit of everything, the lefty setter is dangerous where teams always have to respect her in the front row.&nbsp; She has 200 assists and 42 kills.&nbsp;</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>700 Club! </strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Todd Troutman of Beckman Catholic notched his 700th win over the weekend as the Blazers have started with a 5-0 record.&nbsp; They took home the title at Cascade, highlight by three set victories over Dubuque Senior, Monticello, and Cedar Rapids Prairie. They have a balanced attack with Ava Burkle, [player_tooltip player_id='215404' first='Alli' last='Scherbring'], [player_tooltip player_id='215396' first='Katelyn' last='Schmitt'], [player_tooltip player_id='389068' first='Miley' last='Manternach'], and upstart freshman [player_tooltip player_id='791383' first='Joy' last='Burkle'].&nbsp; This team will have an exciting weekend ahead where they head to the Shirley Ryan Invite at Mount Vernon which will feature plenty of ranked teams.&nbsp;</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:embed {"url":"https://x.com/BHCS_Athletics/status/1830015924361163140","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/BHCS_Athletics/status/1830015924361163140 </div></figure> <!-- /wp:embed --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Heelan With Authority </strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Sioux City Bishop Heelan won the Unity Christian Tournament where they only dropped one set which was to Sioux Falls Christian.&nbsp; There was a whole lot of [player_tooltip player_id='217136' first='Maliyah' last='Hacker'] and Maddie LaFleur going on where Hacker tallied 37 kills and LaFleur noticed over 70 assists.&nbsp;</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Hawkeye Ten Is Not Messing Around</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>The Hawkeye Ten Conference is always a league that turns out state tournament teams in every sport.&nbsp; Volleyball will be no different as multiple teams had dominating starts to the season. Clarinda, Denison-Schleswig, Glenwood, Kuemper, and Lewis Central are all off to an undefeated start.&nbsp; Glenwood is 9-0, winning the Harlan Tournament with seniors [player_tooltip player_id='730673' first='Allison' last='Koontz'] and [player_tooltip player_id='214507' first='Charley' last='Hernandez'] combining for plenty of assists and kills.&nbsp; [player_tooltip player_id='215458' first='Brooke' last='Larsen'], the South Dakota State commit continues to propel the Titans setting and attacking where she has over 20 assists and kills through five matches. Kuemper won the Humboldt Tournament where they notched a big victory over Class 2A 5th ranked South Hardin.&nbsp;</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>New Names Climbing Up The Stat Ranks</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>There are names at the top of the statistical categories where it comes at no surprise.&nbsp; [player_tooltip player_id='215385' first='Chloe' last='Meester'] is leading the state in kills.&nbsp; [player_tooltip player_id='500113' first='Kaylie' last='Simons'], the libero from Kuemper Catholic is at the top in digs, she was a huge standout at the state tournament last season.&nbsp; But who are some of the new names?&nbsp;</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>[player_tooltip player_id='493974' first='Hadley' last='Michael'] is a sophomore at Norwalk and is leading Class 4A in assists with 217 through week one. Nowalk is coming back from a state tournament appearance and is a program continuing to rise.&nbsp; They also have one of the top freshmen in the state in [player_tooltip player_id='560368' first='Elle' last='Hatlevig'] who has nearly 80 kills (leads all freshmen in Iowa).&nbsp;</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:embed {"url":"https://x.com/MPHawksVB/status/1829993365951127906","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/MPHawksVB/status/1829993365951127906 </div></figure> <!-- /wp:embed --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>There is another “Evans” set to star at Mid-Prairie.&nbsp; [player_tooltip player_id='215390' first='Jovi' last='Evans'] is currently a setter/attacker for Mid-Prairie, with younger sister [player_tooltip player_id='775157' first='Jeorgia' last='Evans'] joining her.&nbsp; Jeorgia currently has 34 kills and 72 kills as a freshman.&nbsp; The Hawks are off to a 7-2 start and won the Central Lee Tournament.&nbsp;</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Jordyn Aeschliman is leading Class 2A in kills with 124 through one week.&nbsp; The senior recently committed to play college volleyball at Akron.&nbsp; She has a powerful left handed swing from the right side.&nbsp; West Lyon is off to a 7-2 start.&nbsp;</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Lauren Johnson is second in Class 1A in total kills behind [player_tooltip player_id='215463' first='Carley' last='Craighead'] of Ankeny Christian.&nbsp; Johnson is a senior for Stanton who had a challenging tournament with the likes of Lewis Central, Tri-Center, and Blair (NE).&nbsp; They are part of the Corner Conference who has some Class 1A powers.&nbsp; They face a ranked Sidney team Thursday night!&nbsp;</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph -->