Players That Pushed Through Round 1: 3A Regions 1-4

<!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>I wanted to make a jump for the first round to the 3A-5A matches (don't worry, I promise I will get back to 1A &amp; 2A after the quarters). The first round is over, and I wanted to try to get as many scores and evals out there as possible. So starting strong, we have the 1st-4th regions of 3A.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:heading {"level":3} --> <h3 class="wp-block-heading">REGION 1</h3> <!-- /wp:heading --> <!-- wp:heading {"level":4} --> <h4 class="wp-block-heading">Western Christian defeats Estherville Lincoln Central</h4> <!-- /wp:heading --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>The Western Christian Wolves made a statement in the first round, making it clear why they're at the top of the rankings. The Wolves handled Etherville in a quick 3-set sweep (25-5, 25-18, 25-7). [player_tooltip player_id='781456' first='Morgan' last='Kooiman'] managed to lead the team both offensively and defensively, racking up an average of 6 kills per set. Western Christian is now sitting at an impressive 36-5 record and will be hosting Spirit Lake on Thursday. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:heading {"level":4} --> <h4 class="wp-block-heading">Spirit Lake defeats Okoboji</h4> <!-- /wp:heading --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Although Spirit Lake got it done in 3 (25-11, 25-16, 29-27), I still want to give huge props to Okoboji for fighting until the very end. They played well, but unfortunately, Spirit Lake's defense was incredibly gritty, and they did a fantastic job forcing enough errors out of Okoboji. I wanted to give a shoutout to Addilyn Plathe for her consistency in the back row throughout the match and never hesitating to pursue a ball and cover ground on defense. I also wanted to shout out Grace Leman for being such a strong force at the net. She was consistent, aggressive, and never gave up. Some standouts from Spirit Lake include JJ Wassenaar for her incredible grind and hustle throughout the match and Albany Reinke for showing up when it mattered and managing to stay consistent and aggressive on offense. The Indians will be in Wolf territory on Thursday, fighting for a spot in the regional finals.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:heading {"level":4} --> <h4 class="wp-block-heading">Treynor defeats Creston</h4> <!-- /wp:heading --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>It should come as no surprise that Treynor managed to take down Creston in a quick match (25-8, 25-12, 25-15). Treynor was efficient in all aspects and had every hitter actively involved and scoring. They were extremely aggressive both offensively and defensively. The Cardinals are now up to a 23-9 record and will be hosting Shenandoah on Thursday for the semi-finals. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:acf/evaluation-block {"name":"acf/evaluation-block","data":{"player_evaluations_0_player":["837515"],"_player_evaluations_0_player":"field_62ab9d62ecf2c","player_evaluations_0_override_profile_image":"","_player_evaluations_0_override_profile_image":"override-player-profile-image","player_evaluations_0_not_in_database":"","_player_evaluations_0_not_in_database":"field_62aba48cecf2d","player_evaluations":1,"_player_evaluations":"field_62aba7547dc44"},"alignText":"left","anchor":"acf-block-6ad904f885461"} --> <!-- wp:paragraph {"placeholder":"Add evaluation here...","className":"text-gray-700"} --> <p class="text-gray-700">[player_tooltip player_id='837515' first='Rylee' last='Hemmingsen'] was not only a key contributor to the Cardinals' success in the quarterfinals, but has also been a huge help to the program all season. Hemmingsen has a powerful swing and knows how to score on any defense. The senior is currently leading her team in kills and is at the top of the leaderboard in aces and blocks as well. I am excited to see her end her high school career with a bang. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- /wp:acf/evaluation-block --> <!-- wp:heading {"level":3} --> <h3 class="wp-block-heading">REGION 2</h3> <!-- /wp:heading --> <!-- wp:heading {"level":4} --> <h4 class="wp-block-heading">MOC-Floyd Valley defeats Southeast Valley</h4> <!-- /wp:heading --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>MOC-Floyd handled business on Tuesday and showed just exactly why they will be in state tournament contention. The Dutchmen decided they weren't going to go easy on anyone and shut down the Jaguars in 3 sets, only allowing them to score 20 points in the entire match (25-3, 25-12, 25-5). MOC-Floyed Valley will be hosting Algona on Thursday and I'm thinking we'll be seeing a very similar outcome from the Dutchmen.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:acf/evaluation-block {"name":"acf/evaluation-block","data":{"player_evaluations_0_player":["493656"],"_player_evaluations_0_player":"field_62ab9d62ecf2c","player_evaluations_0_override_profile_image":"","_player_evaluations_0_override_profile_image":"override-player-profile-image","player_evaluations_0_not_in_database":"","_player_evaluations_0_not_in_database":"field_62aba48cecf2d","player_evaluations":1,"_player_evaluations":"field_62aba7547dc44"},"alignText":"left","anchor":"acf-block-6ad904f8854c9"} --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>[player_tooltip player_id='493656' first='Lily' last='Vander Pol'] has been having quite the season and has stepped up not only as a top scorer but also as a leader. Vander Pol is incredibly crafty when it comes to her swings and has a lot of power in her arm, and she makes that clear every time she swings. She is another senior that I am truly excited to watch on the big stage.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- /wp:acf/evaluation-block --> <!-- wp:heading {"level":4} --> <h4 class="wp-block-heading">Algona defeats Forest City</h4> <!-- /wp:heading --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Algona also handled business and took down Forest City in another quick 3 (25-13, 25-17, 25-6). Sophomore [player_tooltip player_id='893087' first='Kate' last='Limbaugh'] had herself quite the night and managed to put Algona's offense on her back and led the team in kills and digs. We also had Hayden McLaughlin leading in blocks and Taylor VanOtterloo leading in assists. Now, the Bulldogs will have to go face the Dutchmen in a fight for a spot ing the Regional final.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:heading {"level":4} --> <h4 class="wp-block-heading">New Hampton defeats Hampton-Dumont</h4> <!-- /wp:heading --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>New Hampton takes down Hampton-Dumont in a hard-fought 3-set victory (25-20, 25-12, 25-18). Although the Bulldogs didn't come out with a win, I still wanted to shout out Maren Subbert for her aggression at the net, as well as Madison Heilskov for her consistency and aggression not only at the net but behind the service line as well. New Hampton will be at home on Thursday facing off against Charles City.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:heading {"level":3} --> <h3 class="wp-block-heading">REGION 3</h3> <!-- /wp:heading --> <!-- wp:heading {"level":4} --> <h4 class="wp-block-heading">Dike-New Hartford defeats Oelwein</h4> <!-- /wp:heading --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>The Wolverines took care of business and took down Oelwein as expected (25-14, 25-7, 25-7). If they keep playing on an upward trend, they are in contention to make a run at the state tournament. Dike-New Hartford will now be moving on to play South Tama at home on Thursday. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:heading {"level":4} --> <h4 class="wp-block-heading">Knoxville defeats Davis County</h4> <!-- /wp:heading --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Knoxville has been proving that they can be a state tournament contender if they keep taking care of business, as they did with Davis County. Mariah Ripperger and Addisyn Williams kept the offense charged and lethal while [player_tooltip player_id='493967' first='Abbie' last='Keitges'] put in the work on defense. The Panthers managed to take down the Mustangs in 3 (25-13, 25-15, 25-17) and will now have to host Williamsburg in the semifinals. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:heading {"level":4} --> <h4 class="wp-block-heading">Williamsburg defeats Centerville</h4> <!-- /wp:heading --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Williamsburg has been working their way to the top in the postseason and started strong with Centerville. The Raiders came out strong and didn't take long to shut down the Big Reds (25-5, 25-9, 25-10). Shoutout goes to the Suhr sisters, who have been unstoppable this season and have made up a good amount of Williamsburg's kills and digs. The Raiders will be traveling to Knoxville on Thursday to face off against the Panthers.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:acf/evaluation-block {"name":"acf/evaluation-block","data":{"player_evaluations_0_player":["782157"],"_player_evaluations_0_player":"field_62ab9d62ecf2c","player_evaluations_0_override_profile_image":"","_player_evaluations_0_override_profile_image":"override-player-profile-image","player_evaluations_0_not_in_database":"","_player_evaluations_0_not_in_database":"field_62aba48cecf2d","player_evaluations":1,"_player_evaluations":"field_62aba7547dc44"},"alignText":"left","anchor":"acf-block-6ad90f450dc0f"} --> <!-- wp:paragraph {"placeholder":"Add evaluation here...","className":"text-gray-700"} --> <p class="text-gray-700">Jensen has been making her mark in the back row with strong fundamentals, consistency in her serve receive, and grit on defense. She reads extremely well, reacts quickly, and refuses to let the ball drop. Even though she's one of the underclassmen, she does a fantastic job leading her team from the back row. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- /wp:acf/evaluation-block --> <!-- wp:heading {"level":3} --> <h3 class="wp-block-heading">REGION 4</h3> <!-- /wp:heading --> <!-- wp:heading {"level":4} --> <h4 class="wp-block-heading">Humboldt defeats Grand View Christian</h4> <!-- /wp:heading --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Humboldt took down GVC, which shouldn't be much of a surprise with the season they've been having. The Wildcats wasted no time shutting them down in 3 (25-11, 25-4, 25-16). I said this at the beginning of the season and still believe it, but I think Humboldt has a good shot at making it into the state finals. I don't think the semifinals should be too tough for them, but I am very excited to see how they compete in the Regional finals as well as the state tournament. Humboldt will be hosting Nevada on Thursday. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:heading {"level":4} --> <h4 class="wp-block-heading">Nevada defeats Albia</h4> <!-- /wp:heading --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Even though Nevada took down Albia in three sets, the Lady Dees still fought hard until the very end. Some of our stat leaders included Isla Martin, leading in kills, averaging about 3 kills per set. Junior Adalynn Muhlbauer led in blocks, and Tempy Carsrud ended the night with 31 assists. The Cubs will now have to face off against Humboldt to try to make it to the finals.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:heading {"level":4} --> <h4 class="wp-block-heading">OABCIG defeats Harlan Community</h4> <!-- /wp:heading --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>OABCIG got the job done after a hard-fought four sets against Harlan (25-7, 25-19, 25-27, 25-17). The Falcons are sitting at 30-2 for their season record and could manage to pull off a win in the finals to make it to the state tournament. Shoutout to Addisyn Pritchard and Lia Hansen for doing a fantastic job of running the Falcon's offense. OABCIG will be heading to Unity Christian on Thursday for the semifinals. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph -->