Day 1 “Tournament Tea” – What You Missed From Coralville

<!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Anyone can look up a score on Bound (which I do love the info that Bound provides), but what really happened at the state tournament?&nbsp; What's the tea? What did you not get from the box score?&nbsp; I have plenty of tidbits from day one of the state tournament which featured the big schools from Class 4A and 5A.&nbsp; And what a day.&nbsp;</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:image {"id":715580,"width":"450px","height":"auto","sizeSlug":"large","linkDestination":"none","align":"right"} --> <figure class="wp-block-image alignright size-large is-resized"><img src="https://prepdig.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/5/2024/11/StateSmith.jpg?w=1024" alt="" class="wp-image-715580" style="width:450px;height:auto"/><figcaption class="wp-element-caption">[player_tooltip player_id='508627' first='Stella' last='Smith'] of Pleasant Valley</figcaption></figure> <!-- /wp:image --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>The first match of the day kicked off with the top seed in Class 5A in Pleasant Valley taking on Waukee.&nbsp; Waukee has a young squad with plenty of talent where PV has a group that is experienced and hungry for a title.&nbsp; Something people were not expecting was star sophomore outside hitter [player_tooltip player_id='490015' first='Mazie' last='Sweers'] being in a boot and crutches, out of today's action&nbsp; For the Spartans, it's next one up and that one was [player_tooltip player_id='389818' first='Hanley' last='Schmidt'] who chipped in eight kills, hitting .278.&nbsp;</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>The hitting percentage for PV was like a video game - mind boggling numbers at a state tournament&nbsp; [player_tooltip player_id='508627' first='Stella' last='Smith'] had nine kills, hitting .815 and [player_tooltip player_id='243182' first='Isabelle' last='Kremer'] had 12 kills hitting .450.&nbsp; As a team, the Spartans hit .383 for the match, but in set three they were at a blistering .579 which included 12 kills, 19 attempts, and only one error. Yowzer.&nbsp;</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Deja vu in Class 5A</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>We will be seeing a repeat of the Class 5A semifinals from 2023, even the same matchups.&nbsp; In 2023 Dowling swept Pleasant Valley and Waukee Northwest took out Ankeny Centennial.&nbsp; The same matchups will be going again on Wednesday.&nbsp; Dowling stumbled to start their 2024 state tournament, but they played with a purpose the next three sets taking out Indianola.&nbsp; [player_tooltip player_id='389933' first='Ellie' last='Muller'] was dominant in the middle and [player_tooltip player_id='215412' first='Ella' last='Rogers'], the South Dakota commit, took over at times offensively and with her block.&nbsp; On the right side, [player_tooltip player_id='215427' first='Ava' last='Groeteke'] presented a problem for Indianola with her block and attack, she changed the game.&nbsp; Ankeny Centennial was business as usual.&nbsp; [player_tooltip player_id='215425' first='Jaeden' last='Pratt'] and [player_tooltip player_id='215464' first='Delaney' last='Miller'] were dominant point scorers for the Jags, but I was really impressed with libero [player_tooltip player_id='261088' first='Mya' last='Lei-Butters'].&nbsp; She is so poised, very confident, and consistent.&nbsp; She's not the libero who is going to flail and dive all over the floor because she plays with such control.&nbsp; I thought I was making quite an observation of setter [player_tooltip player_id='389019' first='Avery' last='Vogt'] being the floor captain, the general, the driver of her Waukee Northwest team - but she is literally the driver. She probably leads the carpool to practice and matches.&nbsp; At one point she was the lone junior on the court with five sophomores.&nbsp; Waukee Northwest played so loose today with no seniors on their team.&nbsp; Their athleticism was too much for Ankeny.&nbsp; Sophomores [player_tooltip player_id='490013' first='Logan' last='Vogt'] and [player_tooltip player_id='493601' first='Piper' last='Ladwig'] had a big day with 15 and 9 kills.&nbsp;&nbsp;</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Number One Stunners! </strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>I've always used the reference “Number One Stunners” from the song “#1 Stunna” by Big Tymers circa 2000, but that clearly makes me outdated.&nbsp; Sergeant Bluff-Luton stuns top seed Xavier in five sets which is the big headline of the tournament.&nbsp; SBL had to upset Council Bluffs Lewis Central on the road to advance to the state tournament as an eight seed.&nbsp; They wasted no time in getting to work, taking the first two sets from the Saints.&nbsp; However, Xavier was far from done and quickly responded with two set wins of their own to force a decisive fifth set.&nbsp; Being courtside for this last set, there was definitely a feeling that seemed like things just tilted towards SBL.&nbsp; The Warriors played so clean, so loose, keeping things really simple by solid ball control and hitting with high IQ.&nbsp; For Xavier, the vibe was tense, maybe another case of deja vu from losing in five sets in their quarterfinal match last season.&nbsp; Bre VanDenTop was really impressive where she could swing from the outside in serve receive and was able to slice the defense out of the middle. SBL just chipped away and finish with a kill to the corner to seal the deal, sending their student section in a frenzy (along with the Pella student section who was alongside them).&nbsp;</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>This must have been good karma for Pella as they came from a 2-1 deficit against CCA to win in five sets where they will meet SBL in a semifinal match on Wednesday.&nbsp; Seed eight vs. seed five.&nbsp; That has been the story of Class 4A this year with plenty of teams beating each other in the top five, trading spots on being on top of the polls.&nbsp;</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Scheckel, Eekhoff Stack the Stats - Pella Prevails</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>I have written about Pella junior [player_tooltip player_id='389942' first='Katie' last='Scheckel'] before - she's been a stand out for the Dutch since she was a freshman.&nbsp; However, I hadn't seen her play live before until tonight.&nbsp; What an athlete.&nbsp; She has such poise, having something positive to do with everything that happens.&nbsp; In a five set win over Clear Creek-Amana she finished with 23 kills, 25 assists, and 25 digs.&nbsp; I am around a lot of volleyball and I just don't see a lot of stat lines like this.&nbsp; She does this quietly as well.&nbsp; There are times where you can look up at the scoreboard and you know certain players and just going off with kills, but Scheckel does this all so quietly because she's doing it all.&nbsp; This Pella and SBL match is going to be between two teams who really control the ball and play really clean. Senior Emma Eekhoff had a triple double as well.&nbsp; She finished with 11 kills, 16 assists, and 29 digs.&nbsp; Wild. Two teammates with stat lines like this is phenomenal.&nbsp;</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Plenty of Uncommitted Seniors</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>When I look up where seniors are playing college ball, there are still plenty of athletes who are “Uncommitted”.&nbsp; I don't talk to players, let alone ask them about their college plans because I know they have enough pressure.&nbsp; They might be talking to schools, they might be hanging up the volleyball shoes, or they might be totally open to playing at the next level.&nbsp; There are a lot of seniors who are uncommitted I think would be a great fit at the next level. [player_tooltip player_id='215424' first='Sydney' last='Light'] of Carlisle who I have seen play middle for PowerPlex is now playing on the outside for six rotations for Carlisle and would be a great fit at the next level.&nbsp; [player_tooltip player_id='217136' first='Maliyah' last='Hacker'] of Sioux City Heelan has been very successful her entire club and high school career and would add great value at the next.&nbsp; Six rotation outside for Glenwood, [player_tooltip player_id='214507' first='Charley' last='Hernandez'] showed that she is a dynamic athlete who could be a defensive specialist or an outside hitter who can score points.&nbsp;&nbsp;</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Some other seniors to have on the radar: </strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Josie McGraw - Indianola</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>[player_tooltip player_id='215728' first='Kate' last='Nelson'] - Dowling</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>[player_tooltip player_id='523167' first='Natalie' last=''] Schmadeke - Cedar Falls</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>[player_tooltip player_id='215752' first='Olivia' last='Eike'] - Ankeny&nbsp;</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>[player_tooltip player_id='443093' first='Maya' last='Ridgeway'] - Ankeny&nbsp;</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Ava Chanthavong - Carlisle</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Emma Eekhoff - Pella</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph -->