Prep Dig Iowa 2025 Week 1 Rewind

<!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>So much excellent volleyball is played throughout the state. It'd be a good idea to keep track of it in a weekly column:</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Feeling a tad under the weather this week, I only made it out to one match - Waterloo West at Iowa City High on Tuesday night. It was a good one. The Wahawks won in five sets after falling behind, 2-1. [player_tooltip player_id='495803' first='Ava' last='Jones'] dominated on big points and finished with 26 kills for the winners. [player_tooltip player_id='840581' first='Lila' last='Homolar'] added 20 kills, Allyson Landers handed out 49 assists and Addy Schoepske came up with 23 digs.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>It was believed to be West's first win in its series with the Little Hawks since 2000. You can view scouting reports from the match <a href="https://prepdig.com/2025/08/scouting-reports-waterloo-west-tops-city-high-in-5/">HERE</a> and photos can be found <a href="https://prepdig.com/2025/08/photo-gallery-waterloo-west-at-iowa-city-high/">HERE</a>.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:separator --> <hr class="wp-block-separator has-alpha-channel-opacity" /> <!-- /wp:separator --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Defending 3A state champion Mount Vernon hosted a strong quad on Thursday with Pella, Mid-Prairie and Bondurant-Farrar. The Dutch reached the 4A title match in 2024, and the Golden Hawks reached the state tournament, where they lost to Mount Vernon.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Mid-Prairie showed that the hierarchy might be different this season. The Golden Hawks went 3-0, going the distance in best-of-three-set matches with Mount Vernon and Bondurant-Farrar.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>During Mid-Prairie's seven sets played on Thursday, senior [player_tooltip player_id='215390' first='Jovi' last='Evans'] went off. She handed out 30 assists, slammed down 26 kills and came up with 31 digs. Her younger sister, sophomore [player_tooltip player_id='808755' first='Jeorgia' last='Evans'], shined as well with 47 digs and 12 kills, while [player_tooltip player_id='389071' first='Harper' last='Pacha'] contributed 18 kills, and [player_tooltip player_id='753942' first='Avery' last='Helmuth'] delivered 38 assists. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Pella posted a 2-1 mark in the quad, sweeping Mount Vernon and going three sets with Bondurant-Farrar. Mount Vernon beat Bondurant-Farrar, 2-0. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:separator --> <hr class="wp-block-separator has-alpha-channel-opacity" /> <!-- /wp:separator --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>The MVC and MAC get together each year for a cool challenge. A location in each league's footprint hosts three schools from each conference. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>This year Prairie and St. Ambrose hosted on Thursday. Defending 5A champs Pleasant Valley went 3-0 at Prairie. Assumption swept the field at St. Ambrose. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>After dominating Tuesday night victories, Iowa City West and Bettendorf followed up with 2-1 showings at Prairie. The Trojans won the head-to-head matchup with the Bulldogs, 2-1, and also topped North Scott in three sets. Bettendorf defeated Kennedy and Prairie in two sets. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:separator --> <hr class="wp-block-separator has-alpha-channel-opacity" /> <!-- /wp:separator --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>One of the top events of the season went down in Ankeny Saturday. The Centennial Early Bird brought together top teams from around the state. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Waukee Northwest showed what many believed entering the season - It's the heavy favorite in 5A and the state's top team overall. The Wolves went 6-0 without losing a set against Centennial, Pleasant Valley, Ankeny, Assumption, Dike-New Hartford and Waterloo West. Only one opponent reached 20 points in a set. Dike-New Hartford lost Set 1, 28-26. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Good luck knocking off [player_tooltip player_id='490011' first='Leah' last='Janulewicz']<a href="https://prepdig.com/player/leah-janulewicz/"></a><a href="https://prepdig.com/player/leah-janulewicz/"></a>, [player_tooltip player_id='555820' first='London' last='Taylor']<a href="https://prepdig.com/player/london-taylor/"></a><a href="https://prepdig.com/player/london-taylor/"></a>, [player_tooltip player_id='389019' first='Avery' last='Vogt']<a href="https://prepdig.com/player/avery-vogt/"></a><a href="https://prepdig.com/player/avery-vogt/"></a>, [player_tooltip player_id='389065' first='Anna' last='Pelds']<a href="https://prepdig.com/player/anna-pelds/"></a><a href="https://prepdig.com/player/anna-pelds/"></a>, [player_tooltip player_id='490013' first='Logan' last='Vogt']<a href="https://prepdig.com/player/logan-vogt/"></a><a href="https://prepdig.com/player/logan-vogt/"></a>, [player_tooltip player_id='545971' first='Avery' last='Cordes']<a href="https://prepdig.com/player/avery-cordes/"></a><a href="https://prepdig.com/player/avery-cordes/"></a>, [player_tooltip player_id='493601' first='Piper' last='Ladwig']<a href="https://prepdig.com/player/piper-ladwig/"></a>, [player_tooltip player_id='812248' first='Cassidy' last='Danburg'] and company this season. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Centennial put together a 5-1 performance to make the home crowd proud. The Jaguars defeated Ankeny, Dowling, Bettendorf, Valley and Dike-New Hartford. The matches against Dowling and Ankeny went three sets. [player_tooltip player_id='261088' first='Mya' last='Lei-Butters'], [player_tooltip player_id='389060' first='Tatem' last='Schmidt']<a href="https://prepdig.com/player/tatem-schmidt/"></a><a href="https://prepdig.com/player/tatem-schmidt/"></a>, [player_tooltip player_id='816525' first='Mady' last='Ott']<a href="https://prepdig.com/player/mady-ott/"></a><a href="https://prepdig.com/player/mady-ott/"></a>, [player_tooltip player_id='261083' first='Maegan' last='Cheeseman']<a href="https://prepdig.com/player/maegan-cheeseman/"></a> and [player_tooltip player_id='827838' first='Sophia' last='Heither'] provide a veteran presence for the Jaguars. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>[player_tooltip player_id='443092' first='Malia' last='Rogers'], [player_tooltip player_id='835524' first='Maggie' last='Craig']<a href="https://prepdig.com/player/maggie-craig/"></a><a href="https://prepdig.com/player/maggie-craig/"></a>, [player_tooltip player_id='500116' first='Alexa' last='Weber'], [player_tooltip player_id='443125' first='Liv' last='Davis'] and Waukee knocked off defending 5A champion Pleasant Valley in three sets. Ankeny, with [player_tooltip player_id='827425' first='Miya' last='Steinkamp']<a href="https://prepdig.com/player/miya-steinkamp/"></a> , [player_tooltip player_id='555797' first='Marlee' last='Ellison']<a href="https://prepdig.com/player/marlee-ellison/"></a><a href="https://prepdig.com/player/marlee-ellison/"></a>, [player_tooltip player_id='555795' first='Gracyn' last='Adams']<a href="https://prepdig.com/player/gracyn-adams/"></a> and [player_tooltip player_id='490016' first='Raquel' last='Risk']<a href="https://prepdig.com/player/raquel-risk/"></a>, [player_tooltip player_id='389074' first='Hailey' last='Flanders'], [player_tooltip player_id='412719' first='Jenna' last='Harbour'] and others, topped Waukee in straight sets and beat Dike-New Hartford in three. <a href="https://prepdig.com/player/jenna-harbour/"></a></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>[player_tooltip player_id='316419' first='Edie' last='Miller']<a href="https://prepdig.com/player/edie-miller/"></a>, [player_tooltip player_id='316380' first='Hadley' last='Miller']<a href="https://prepdig.com/player/hadley-miller/"></a>, [player_tooltip player_id='845222' first='Ava' last='Meidlinger'], [player_tooltip player_id='493985' first='Sydney' last='Van Heukelom'], [player_tooltip player_id='273001' first='Ellie' last='Wilson']<a href="https://prepdig.com/player/ellie-wilson/"></a> and Liberty picked up impressive wins against Dowling and Cedar Falls. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:separator --> <hr class="wp-block-separator has-alpha-channel-opacity" /> <!-- /wp:separator --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Bondurant-Farrar welcomed a talented field to its event on Saturday. Among that group, defending 2A champion Denver shined the brightest with a 5-0 mark that included wins against Pella, Indianola, North Polk, North Tama and Urbandale. Pella won the rest of its matches. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>[player_tooltip player_id='389017' first='Bailey' last='Mullihan']<a href="https://prepdig.com/player/bailey-mullihan/"></a>, [player_tooltip player_id='389009' first='Grace' last='Mullihan'], [player_tooltip player_id='389012' first='Channing' last='Johnson'], [player_tooltip player_id='827473' first='Mylee' last='Thurm'], [player_tooltip player_id='835359' first='Madeline' last='Hildebrandt'], [player_tooltip player_id='755663' first='Adeana' last='Murch'], [player_tooltip player_id='739138' first='Mackenzie' last='McEwan'] and others make Denver dominant. Pella is paced by [player_tooltip player_id='389942' first='Katie' last='Scheckel'], [player_tooltip player_id='753905' first='Brooke' last='Schulte'], [player_tooltip player_id='810068' first='Abbie' last='Brand']<a href="https://prepdig.com/player/abbie-brand/"></a> and Elah Hiemstra. <a href="https://prepdig.com/player/mackenzie-mcewan/"></a></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:separator --> <hr class="wp-block-separator has-alpha-channel-opacity" /> <!-- /wp:separator --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>MORE NEWS</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>-Knoxville got its season off to a strong start at Tuesday's Carlisle quad. The Panthers used a balanced attack to go 3-0 against the host school, Ottumwa and Oskaloosa. Siena Scott (18), Mariah Ripperger (15), Jordyn Counts (11) and Addisyn Williams (10) all reached double figures in kills. Addison Dunkin dished out 47 assists, and [player_tooltip player_id='493967' first='Abbie' last='Keitges'] had 34 digs.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>-Kuemper Catholic enjoyed a 3-0 first week. The Knights swept a triangular with Underwood and Van Meter on Monday, and the next day recorded a 3-0 victory at Creston. [player_tooltip player_id='830462' first='Brianna' last='Wittrock'] led the way with 18 kills, while Mariah Heuton and Kolbi Peter each at 17. [player_tooltip player_id='753919' first='Elsa' last='Tiefenthaler'] was credited with 67 assists, and [player_tooltip player_id='800437' first='Kaylie' last='Simons'] had 39 digs.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>-Webster City, Central Springs and South Hamilton visited Roland-Story Monday. The hosts went 3-0 against the competition. [player_tooltip player_id='493981' first='Brookelyn' last='Jondle'] registered 20 kills (.567), and [player_tooltip player_id='804988' first='Caitlyn' last='Flattebo'] had 10. [player_tooltip player_id='493603' first='Miley' last='Geise'] handed out 44 assists, and Karsyn Lande had 17 digs. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>-Ankeny defeated North Polk, Dike-New Hartford and Ankeny Christian in a quad it hosted on Tuesday. Dike-New Hartford went 2-1 at the event, dropping a tough, 2-1 decision to the Hawks. [player_tooltip player_id='389014' first='Abby' last='Jensen'] had 27 kills for the Wolverines, and [player_tooltip player_id='818264' first='Rylee' last='Reicks'] produced 22. Kailyn Meester (68 assists) and Ruby Varney (32 digs) also stood out. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Sophomore [player_tooltip player_id='730419' first='Hailey' last='Wiederin'] paced Ankeny with 25 kills, while classmate [player_tooltip player_id='732859' first='Elle' last='Isaacson'] added 18. [player_tooltip player_id='827425' first='Miya' last='Steinkamp'] (45 assists), [player_tooltip player_id='389074' first='Hailey' last='Flanders'] (38 digs) and Quinn Roush (10.0 Blocks) also were big for the Hawks. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>-Grundy Center jumped out to a 3-0 start with wins against visiting Hudson, <a href="https://www.gobound.com/direct/teams/h202221758456046a503b6a94e118fd6/show">AGWSR</a> and Waverly-Shell Rock on Tuesday. Monster middle hitter [player_tooltip player_id='818213' first='Ryanne' last='Brubaker'] pounded out 20 kills (.515) and 6.0 blocks. [player_tooltip player_id='833186' first='Jenna' last='Blythe'] (15 kills), Charlee Kirkpatrick (12 kills, 19 digs), [player_tooltip player_id='839302' first='Trinity' last='Jirovsky'] (10 kills) and Caturella Brown (26 assists, 9 digs) also played well for the Spartans. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>-Tuesday night's opening of MVC play included a two more thrilling five-setters in addition to Waterloo West and Iowa City High. Kennedy won at Linn-Mar and Western Dubuque topped visiting Xavier with both matches going the distance. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>[player_tooltip player_id='525829' first='Addison' last='Phillips'] (17 kills), [player_tooltip player_id='832696' first='Hayden' last='Scott'] (11 kills, 17 digs), [player_tooltip player_id='555717' first='Kaycee' last='Cory'] (26 assists, 6 kills, 14 digs) and [player_tooltip player_id='621326' first='Dylan' last='Amling'] (22 digs) helped Kennedy pull through. Linn-Mar received solid play from [player_tooltip player_id='753120' first='Lexie' last='Peters'], [player_tooltip player_id='827619' first='Peyton' last='Busch'] and [player_tooltip player_id='771525' first='Ava' last='Lampe']. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>[player_tooltip player_id='389015' first='Evelyn' last='White'] (20 kills) and [player_tooltip player_id='493984' first='Kyla' last='Ramler'] (19) proved an effective one-two punch for Western Dubuque, which also received key contributions from [player_tooltip player_id='748340' first='Lola' last='Quagliano'], [player_tooltip player_id='826216' first='Evelynn' last='Koopmann'] and Gabbie Demmer. Xavier hung tough behind the play of [player_tooltip player_id='329851' first='Macie' last='Lupkes'] (11 kills, 5.0 blocks), [player_tooltip player_id='730470' first='Maddie' last='Ireland'] and Caylin Miller. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph -->