Iowa 2029s Sizzling Early in Club Season

Get 30% off your first billing cycle with code: howe30 in the coupon code area   A lot of my attention has been focused on the 15U division this season with our daughter playing in that age group. I've written about a lot of those kids already. New talent has continued surfacing, however.   That's not surprising. Most of these student-athletes are prep freshmen ready to take off in high school, if they have't already.   Here's a closer look at members from the group I watched recently:    Cedar Rapids Kennedy is a program poised for progress in the coming years. The Cougars return a sound nucleus from its varsity in 2026, and a strong group of underclassmen are waiting in the wings to help. That collection of talent includes Cerretti, who we watched compete at the Rockets Blast in early February. The freshman was playing six rotations as an outside hitter after performing with the Kennedy sophomore squad as a ninth-grader in the fall. Cerretti is a good athlete that moves well laterally and can jump. She's technically sound and shows keen court awareness. Keep an eye on Cerretti moving forward.     I usually keep my scouting reports focused on Iowa student-athletes, but sometimes interesting prospects pop up from neighboring states compelling me to write about them. That was the case with Schaefer when watching her compete at the Rockets Blast in early February. Platform reached the gold bracket semifinals with Schaefer standing out through six rotations. She's at her best swinging away from the pin, flashing explosive athleticism and rising up with an impressive vertical leap. Schaefer moves well laterally and sharp reflexes help in defending the back row. The freshman got her feet wet on the Morrison High varsity in 2025, averaging 1.6 kills in 37 sets played.     I'm a fan of multi-sport athletes, and Meyer is one to watch within Iowa's 2029 Class. I wrote about her this winter at Prep Girls Hoops for her exploits in basketball. She's a key contributor for a Top 10 varsity program as a ninth-grader. It's clearly her top sport right now with a good chance that continues to be the case. However, Meyer's potential in volleyball is significant. Her long arms make her a natural as a defender in the middle of the net. Meyer has continually improved her attack over time with a chance at more in that area. When you split time between sports, development for each can take more time. That's one of the reasons Meyer is one to watch in two sports.     As written while evaluating other student-athletes in this post, I'm a big fan of multi-sport athletes in high school and beyond. The activities often complement each other and help develop a broad range of skills. Boots is a great example of that. This winter, the freshman is contributing to the Vinton-Shellsburg varsity hoops team while playing club volleyball on Surge's top 15s squad. It comes on the heels of starting as a ninth-grader for the Vikings varsity volleyball team. Boots led the outfit in blocks and ranked among the top attackers. She flashed that two-way ability during the Rockets Blast in early February. Boots times her block well, can jump and possesses long arms. Her swing generates power when she gets on top of the ball with a heavy hand.     Devasthali stuck out for her advanced attack when I watched Platform Elite 15U Adidas at the Rockets Blast in early February. Leaping ability and a heavy swing proved difficult for the opposition to handle. Devasthali displays potential to be a good defender at the net with her aforementioned traits along with long arms and court sense. They're helping her stand out on the club circuit after the freshman impacted Davenport Central's varsity during her first year of high school ball. She started and ranked among the team leaders in most statistical categories against a challenging schedule.     Gardner first caught my attention when watching her compete with the Pleasant Valley club team at the Iowa Regional last year. She helped that squad qualify for the USAV Nationals. I was reintroduced to her when scouting Rockets 15-1 during the 2026 Iowa Invitational in late January. Gardner was operating as a six-rotation outside hitter. She found ways to impact matches from all-around the court. Much of that is derived from her being a good athlete. As Gardner combines that natural ability with developing skills, the potential for much more production is easy to picture. She was one of only two freshmen listed on the PV sophomore team roster this past fall.

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