The Midseason Top Ten of Illinois, Iowa, and Wisconsin

We are at the midway point of the high school volleyball season and there are teams rising to the top.  All of these teams listed below are among the best in their state and some can be considered among the best in the country.  Here are my top ten from Illinois, Iowa, and Wisconsin.    1. Benet Academy (Illinois)   Benet Academy out of Chicagoland is a high school program that is loaded with future D1 athletes, especially ones heading to the Big Ten.  They are led by one of the top all around athletes in the state and one of the top liberos in the country in Indiana commit, [player_tooltip player_id='288647' first='Aniya' last='Warren'].  The second contact is with two high level setters in [player_tooltip player_id='311413' first='Audrey' last='Asleson'] (Colorado) and [player_tooltip player_id='251333' first='Ellie' last='Stiernagle'] (Northwestern).  When it comes to the third attack there are plenty of weapons led by one of the top middle blockers in the nation in 2026 Wisconsin commit Lynney [player_tooltip player_id='323932' first='Carolyn' last='Tarnow'].  [player_tooltip player_id='323945' first='Brooklynne' last='Brass'] (Maryland) is on the outside along with Keria O'Donnell (Southern Miss). The practices in this gym are next level with the athleticism and depth this team has.      2. Divine Savior Holy Angels (Wisconsin)   The all girls Catholic school out of Milwaukee will be going for their third state championship in Wisconsin's largest class.  There is a long list of names from DSHA who have gone on to successful collegiate careers.  The Class of 2025 for the Dashers has plenty of big names that includes 2023 Wisconsin Gatorade Player of the Year Madison Quest (Wisconsin) on the outside, Olivia Durst (Michigan State) at libero, and setter Jordan Czajkowski (Belmont).  They welcomed a springy outside over the summer in Addison Buckner who previously prepped at St. Joseph Academy in Cleveland, Ohio and played club for Mintonette.  The Dashers also have a Class of 2028 Loechler who is a trending high level right side/setter combo player.    <figure class="wp-block-embed"><div class="wp-block-embed__wrapper"> https://x.com/McAuley_VB/status/1837520634823213150 </div></figure>   3. Mother McAuley (Illinois)   The Might Mac's are always among the best in Illinois as well as one of the top programs in the country.  They have a case full of state championship trophies.  They graduated a talented group of seniors from the Class of 2024, but have reloaded this fall.  [player_tooltip player_id='529824' first='Peyton' last='Heatherly'] is a do it all type setter and is only a sophomore, she was named the top player in the Illinois Class of 2027.  They have a list of talented college commits in [player_tooltip player_id='537712' first='Sydney' last='Buchanan'] (Memphis), [player_tooltip player_id='325500' first='Lucy' last='Maloney'] (Clemson), and [player_tooltip player_id='317472' first='Mary' last='Claire Deacy'] (Siena).    <figure class="wp-block-embed is-type-rich is-provider-twitter wp-block-embed-twitter"><div class="wp-block-embed__wrapper"> https://x.com/VincentDJohnson/status/1839448509952479618 </div></figure>   4. Marist (Illinois)   Marist and McAuley just had quite a match that was packed to the brim at Marist where McAuley came out on top.  Marist is still one of the top teams in the Midwest where they bring plenty of tradition and firepower.  On the outside is one of the top six rotation outside hitters in [player_tooltip player_id='311415' first='Bella' last='Bullington'] who will be heading to Northwestern, [player_tooltip player_id='325497' first='Elayna' last='Davidson'] (Maryland), and [player_tooltip player_id='325496' first='Cassidy' last='Cage'] (Mississippi State).  Maddie Berry has been an All State setter for Marist who is committed to Davenport in Grand Rapids, Michigan.  They will be at the Asics Challenge hosted by Mother McAuley which draws some of the top programs in Illinois and even the nation.    <figure class="wp-block-embed is-type-rich is-provider-twitter wp-block-embed-twitter"><div class="wp-block-embed__wrapper"> https://x.com/IGHSAU/status/1836227505310539949 </div></figure>   5. Mount Vernon (Iowa)   Mount Vernon is a high school located outside of Cedar Rapids, Iowa with just under 500 students.  They are in Class 3A in Iowa and are top ranked (large class is Class 5A).  They are led by [player_tooltip player_id='215385' first='Chloe' last='Meester'] who has been the top player in Iowa's Class of 2025, racking up plenty of kills, and is also a state basketball and state track participant.  She will head to Louisville.  On the right side is a springy lefty with a huge swing in [player_tooltip player_id='215389' first='Sydney' last='Maue'] who will head to Arkansas.  The quarterback of this offense is setter [player_tooltip player_id='215387' first='Sydney' last='Huber'] who will play basketball at Evansville.  Their only losses so far this season are to Omaha Skutt Catholic and Omaha Westside.    6. Ankeny Centennial (Iowa)   Ankeny Centennial is currently the top ranked team in Iowa's Class 5A (largest class).  They have produced some high powered players in Devyn Robinson (Wisconsin) and Kenna Sauer (Mizzou and Houston).  The Jags have a balanced, high powered offense led by [player_tooltip player_id='215464' first='Delaney' last='Miller'] who is heading to D2 power Wayne State.  They also have [player_tooltip player_id='215425' first='Jaeden' last='Pratt'], a really physical attacker who will head to Illinois State for basketball.  Central Iowa is loaded with high level teams in Class 5A.    7. Arrowhead (Wisconsin)   Arrowhead High School is out of Hartland, WI where they are located just outside of Milwaukee.  They have gone toe to toe with DSHA where they are the only team to take a set off them this season.  Central Oklahoma commit Myla Unterweger leads this well balanced offense.  One athlete who really changes the game for the Warhawks is libero Siena Maccudden who can handle a large volume of serve receive and always finds a way to keep her side of the net in system.  She is a 2026 prospect who is uncommitted and would be a huge get at the next level.    8. Sussex Hamilton (Wisconsin)   Sussex Hamilton was knocked out of their home tournament by Arrowhead in a three set thriller this past weekend. They are led by Eva Finnessy on the outside who will be going to Northern Illinois and Brook Aslakson in the middle (Minnesota Duluth).  Brooke Baldwin is the setter for this squad who brings so much athleticism and physicality to the court - she is a 2026 prospect committed to Rutgers.  They will have a huge matchup with DSHA in conference play next Tuesday, October 1.    9. Normal West (Illinois)   Let's have some respect for Central Illinois with Normal West High School who is off to a blistering start going 20-0.  A lot of these athletes have seen success for [program_tooltip program_id='430006' first='Illini' last='Elite'] volleyball club which has translated to the high school courts. [player_tooltip player_id='320126' first='Ellie' last='Rink'] is a six rotation outside hitter who is absolutely electric.  She has put together quite a career for the Wildcats, she will head to St. Louis.     10. Lincoln Way East (Illinois)   There is a lot of firepower for Lincoln Way East led by Indiana commit [player_tooltip player_id='319759' first='Alaina' last='Pollard'] and St. Louis commit [player_tooltip player_id='288626' first='Tamia' last='Maddox'].  They also have an electric freshman outside hitter in [player_tooltip player_id='582261' first='Kolby' last='Ross'] who will be a fun athlete to keep tabs on throughout the high school and club season.  Two of their three losses have come to the hands of Benet Academy, the top team in this rankings list.  They will be a threat come postseason in Illinois.

We are at the midway point of the high school volleyball season and there are teams rising to the top. All of these teams listed below are among the best in their state and some can be considered among the best in the country. Here are my top ten from Illinois, Iowa, and Wisconsin.