First Impressions of the Field from the Iowa State Tournament

Before we break everything down for the Iowa State Volleyball Tournament, I have some quick thoughts in regards to the teams advancing, what the brackets look like, and what we could potentially see as far as some big fireworks next week in Coralville. I will be there for the quarterfinals for sure on Monday and Tuesday with hopefully some bonus coverage on Wednesday.  Nobody does it better than the IGHSAU when it comes to putting on a state tournament! 

The Streak and Tradition

I know Western Christian has always been a power.  For a lot of these athletes, they probably have plenty of extended family members who have played at the state tournament and have won state titles.  However, seeing this stat in writing is baffling.  24 straight years going to the state tournament.  And if they go next year, I'll be baffled again that it is 25 straight years.  

The Sioux County Battle 

Western Christian and Sioux Center have to square off right away in the state tournament.  These two teams have an interesting history in regards to what class they have competed in come postseason.  Western Christian played in 3A last year having always been a 2A team while Sioux Center was bumped up to 4A in 2023 where this year they are back in 3A.  These athletes probably go to church together, hang out together, play other sports with and against each other, that's just how things work in Sioux County. Western does have a 2-1 win over Sioux Center from earlier in the season.  Of the 13 losses that Western has this season, only two are from Iowa teams (Waukee Northwest and Sergeant Bluff-Luton).  Sioux Center and Western aren't the only teams from Sioux County as Boyden-Hull advanced in Class 2A. 

All of Ankeny Advances…Again

Ankeny, Ankeny Centennial, and Ankeny Christian have all advanced to the state tournament again where Christian will be going for their third straight state title.  They beefed up their schedule with some tough non-conference tournaments, winning the Centennial Invite where their only loss was in pool play to Pleasant Valley where they would go on to win the gold bracket with wins over Waukee, Ankeny, and Dowling Catholic.  Ankeny and Ankeny Centennial had to square off in the quarterfinals to open the state tournament in 2023, but this season there is an opportunity to meet in the semifinals.  Ankeny will open with Waukee Northwest and Centennial squares off with Cedar Falls.  Indianola and Waukee are the only new Class 5A teams in the field in 2024, where Indianola was runner up in Class 4A in 2023. 

No Surprise, NICL Loads Up In Class 2A

This isn't a surprise, but that doesn't mean it's not an amazing feat. The NICL is traditionally one of the top conferences in the state year in and year out.  Many of these teams are going head to head for a spot in the state tournament, and this year Aplington-Parkersburg, Denver, Dike-New Hartford, and South Hardin are heading to Coralville.  In the regional final Dike took out NICL opponent, Wapsie Valley, AP did the same with Sumner-Fred, and South Hardin outlasted Grundy Center in four sets. The conference matchups aren't over either with Dike-New Hartford and AP playing in the quarterfinals with a potential semifinal matchup with Denver. 

Conferences With Multiple Teams

CIML - Ankeny (5A), Ankeny Centennial (5A), Dowling (5A), Waukee (5A), Waukee Northwest (5A)

Iowa Star - Don Bosco (1A), Janesville (1A), BCLUW (1A), North Tama (1A)

Hawkeye Ten - Carroll Kuemper (3A), Glenwood (4A)

Little Hawkeye - Indianola (5A), Pella (4A)

Mississippi Athletic Conference - Pleasant Valley (5A), North Scott (4A), Davenport Assumption (3A)

Mississippi Valley Conference - Cedar Falls (5A), Xavier (4A), Wahlert (3A)

Missouri River - Sergeant Bluff-Luton (4A), Sioux City Bishop Heelan (4A)

NICL - Aplington-Parkersburg (2A), Denver (2A) , Dike-New Hartford (2A), South Hardin (2A)

River Valley - Beckman (2A), Iowa City Regina (2A), Mid Prairie (3A)

Siouxland - Boyden-Hull (2A), Sioux Center (3A)

WaMaC - Clear Creek-Amana (4A), Mount Vernon (3A), West Delaware (3A)

The Champs Are All Back, But…

Ankeny Christian returns many of their core players from their state titles in 2022 and 2023.  Dike-New Hartford, Western Christian, North Scott, and Waukee Northwest who won their classes last season are all back, but aren't the top seed heading into next week. DNH lost three D1 athletes from their roster, Western graduated their top attacker in Shayna Van Dyken, North Scott returns top scorer Abbey Hayes Abbey Hayes 6'2" | OH North Scott | 2025 State #90 Nation IA however they lost a lot of their key role players due to graduation, and Waukee Northwest had a senior heavy roster in 2023.  The players who are stepping up this year practiced against those top players from top teams day in and day out only a season ago. Programs like this just reload.

Seven Prep Dig Iowa Sizzle Teams Qualify For the State Tournament

Prep Dig had a new event this past August to kick off the month prior to the start of the season with the Prep Dig iowa Sizzle where teams could “Start and End Their Season in Coralville”.  This event was held at the Green State Fieldhouse connected to Xtream Arena.  Teams had three matches per day with an emphasis on teams playing comparable competition against those outside of their conference.   Assumption, Clear Creek-Amana, Denver, Iowa City Regina, Mid Prairie, Mount Vernon, and Pleasant Valley were all at the Sizzle.  Luxemburg-Casco out of Wisconsin is in the final 16 of their division with a match on Thursday and if they win, they will play to go to state on Saturday (State Tournament is Wisconsin is four teams per class and is held next weekend at the Resch Center in Green Bay).  We might just have to run the Sizzle back in 2025.