More “Voice Notes”, IGHSAU 3A Quarterfinals From a Coaching Eye

<!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>I tried this yesterday. Instead of being eyes down in my notes app, I opted for the voice to text. I figure try it again through the Class 3A quarterfinals. This is from a coaching view point. What adjustments are teams making, what is causing them success, what are things happening that you don't always see in the stat line. Here are the voice notes of the Class 3A Quarterfinals. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:heading --> <h2 class="wp-block-heading"><strong>Western Christian vs. Roland-Story</strong></h2> <!-- /wp:heading --> <!-- wp:list --> <ul class="wp-block-list"><!-- wp:list-item --> <li>Western Christian is back. They have made every single state tournament (not really), but it's pretty close. I've always been curious about the logistics for a Western Iowa team, with the drive to Iowa City for potentially three matches thats a lot of going back and forth with hotel stays I'm sure. All of the teams coming from Sioux County travel extremely well. </li> <!-- /wp:list-item --> <!-- wp:list-item --> <li>Western Christian has another promising freshman: a 6-foot-1, six-rotation outside hitter, [player_tooltip player_id='1053499' first='Josie' last='Hall']. Looking her up, she played club for Kairos in Sioux Falls. That club has been a really good fit for the top athletes in Northwest Iowa, especially Sioux County. Kairos also has [player_tooltip player_id='781456' first='Morgan' last='Kooiman'] of Western, as well as [player_tooltip player_id='573313' first='Deviryn' last='McCarty'] from MOC-Floyd Valley, who's had a really big impact there.</li> <!-- /wp:list-item --> <!-- wp:list-item --> <li>[player_tooltip player_id='493981' first='Brookelyn' last='Jondle'] is going to be a key player for Roland-Story early in set one. If she swings big, watch out. She's committed to Wartburg, which has been grabbing some really strong players in the state who have made a big impact at the high school level.</li> <!-- /wp:list-item --> <!-- wp:list-item --> <li>Through the first 15 points, Roland-Story is showing no fear against Western Christian. As the No. 8 seed, they have nothing to lose.</li> <!-- /wp:list-item --> <!-- wp:list-item --> <li>Western Christian regroups for set two jumping off to a fast start. </li> <!-- /wp:list-item --> <!-- wp:list-item --> <li>Class 3A has been an interesting tournament to watch evolve, especially with the class-size changes. Wilton has been a 2A team now in the 3A state tournament. Western Christian was 2A and is now 3A. Davenport Assumption and Sioux Center were typically 3A state tournament teams, but are now in 4A. Dike-New Hartford was a 2A powerhouse and will play later in the 3A state tournament. </li> <!-- /wp:list-item --> <!-- wp:list-item --> <li>Western advances, but credit to Roland Story who battled the whole way, its been a while since they have advanced to the state volleyball tournament. </li> <!-- /wp:list-item --></ul> <!-- /wp:list --> <!-- wp:heading --> <h2 class="wp-block-heading"><strong>MOC-Floyd Valley vs. Wilton</strong></h2> <!-- /wp:heading --> <!-- wp:list --> <ul class="wp-block-list"><!-- wp:list-item --> <li>MOC-Floyd Valley clearly has a size advantage over Wilton. Wilton is extremely scrappy and athletic, but those 50-50 balls at the net are tough to overcome when you have a 6-foot-4 player staring at you.&nbsp; 6'4 would be [player_tooltip player_id='741261' first='Brielle' last='Hoegh'], she is long and athletic where she can hit over Wilton. </li> <!-- /wp:list-item --> <!-- wp:list-item --> <li>You can tell Wilton is well prepared. Setter [player_tooltip player_id='490009' first='Leah' last='Caffery'] runs such a good offense. She knows who to find the favorable matchups. She's crafty. Against a team like MOC, you have to be able to run a fast tempo and find the deep corners.</li> <!-- /wp:list-item --> <!-- wp:list-item --> <li>Wilton's outside hitter [player_tooltip player_id='917987' first='Abren' last='Bazal'] has done a nice job using her angles and going cross-court. She's avoiding the block, and Caffrey also does a nice job of making sure she isn't trapping her into the block, so she can get a clean swing.</li> <!-- /wp:list-item --> <!-- wp:list-item --> <li>As the match progresses, I'm still really impressed with the connection between Caffery and her outside hitters. They're avoiding MOC's big block and putting the ball where the defense isn't. It might not work every time, but you can tell they have a definite plan in their attack.</li> <!-- /wp:list-item --> <!-- wp:list-item --> <li>[player_tooltip player_id='573313' first='Deviryn' last='McCarty'] makes a lot of plays for the Dutch. She's so solid in serve receive and makes high-IQ swings on the outside. She's one of the top players in the class of 2028, but her main position is libero. She's the type of player anybody would want playing six rotations.  She is one of three athletes in the state tournament going to UNI that includes Humboldt setter [player_tooltip player_id='545946' first='Addison' last='Waldorf'] and Ankeny right side attacker [player_tooltip player_id='730419' first='Hailey' last='Wiederin'].</li> <!-- /wp:list-item --> <!-- wp:list-item --> <li>Wilton is in the right position for everything, but at the end of the day you have 6-foot-4 going up against 5-foot-8 across the front line.&nbsp; When [player_tooltip player_id='741261' first='Brielle' last='Hoegh'] goes out of the middle, MOC comes in with freshman middle Lily Krull. </li> <!-- /wp:list-item --> <!-- wp:list-item --> <li>Late in set three, Wilton is starting to run out of gas a little. MOC-Floyd Valley's physicality is putting a ton of pressure on them. When MOC is in system and can use all three attackers, they are so tough to stop.</li> <!-- /wp:list-item --></ul> <!-- /wp:list --> <!-- wp:heading --> <h2 class="wp-block-heading"><strong>Humboldt vs. Solon</strong></h2> <!-- /wp:heading --> <!-- wp:list --> <ul class="wp-block-list"><!-- wp:list-item --> <li>Two huge crowds for Solon and Humboldt. We're halfway through the first set and no one has really taken control. Both teams look comfortable. Humboldt has the experience and one of the top setters in the state in [player_tooltip player_id='545946' first='Addison' last='Waldorf'], which always helps, but Solon is extremely scrappy and plays with a lot of fire and energy.</li> <!-- /wp:list-item --> <!-- wp:list-item --> <li>You can tell Humboldt's [player_tooltip player_id='545946' first='Addison' last='Waldorf'] Waldorf and [player_tooltip player_id='746258' first='Adelynn' last='Goodell'] have a really strong setter-middle connection. Goodell&nbsp; knows how to find the deep corners, and Waldorf gives her plenty of space so she isn't trapped by the opposing middle blocker.</li> <!-- /wp:list-item --> <!-- wp:list-item --> <li>Solon's right side [player_tooltip player_id='1017507' first='Zephie' last='Bishop'] is impressive. She has a lot of length on the right side and could have a big upside to her game in the future.</li> <!-- /wp:list-item --></ul> <!-- /wp:list --> <!-- wp:list --> <ul class="wp-block-list"><!-- wp:list-item --> <li>At the start of set two, Humboldt is really working with Goodell out of the middle. If Goodell keeps scoring like she has so far, it's going to be a quick night for Solon.</li> <!-- /wp:list-item --> <!-- wp:list-item --> <li>Humboldt jumps out to a 7-3 lead. They're putting a lot of serving pressure on Solon. Solon has to settle back in and get a good pass and attack, or they won't be able to keep up with the Humboldt serve and pass. </li> <!-- /wp:list-item --> <!-- wp:list-item --> <li>Addy Waldorf is just picking the defense apart. She can see them waiting for a big swing, and then she attacks on her own.</li> <!-- /wp:list-item --> <!-- wp:list-item --> <li>Solon libero [player_tooltip player_id='1036948' first='Macy' last='Fuller'] does a nice job just with her presence on the court. She handles a lot in serve receive, gets a lot of touches, and celebrates big. All the things you want to see in a libero.</li> <!-- /wp:list-item --> <!-- wp:list-item --> <li>Solon setter [player_tooltip player_id='720363' first='Scarlett' last='Ferin'] runs such a fast tempo to [player_tooltip player_id='993804' first='Addison' last='Walter'] out of the middle. Walter is really dynamic; Solon just hasn't had enough in-system opportunities to get her going.</li> <!-- /wp:list-item --> <!-- wp:list-item --> <li>We're just over halfway through set two, and [player_tooltip player_id='746258' first='Adelynn' last='Goodell']l has 11 kills. Waldorf is going to keep feeding her because she's hitting at such a high efficiency.</li> <!-- /wp:list-item --> <!-- wp:list-item --> <li>Nearing the end of set two, Solon has run out of subs. This is why you want all-around players: you never know when one will get stuck having to play a different position in a key time. </li> <!-- /wp:list-item --> <!-- wp:list-item --> <li>Humboldt's libero [player_tooltip player_id='993181' first='Ryah' last='Cirks'] is only a freshman. She does a really nice job of making plays look routine. She's under control and plays with a lot of maturity for someone who's only 14 or 15 years old. </li> <!-- /wp:list-item --> <!-- wp:list-item --> <li>With the success Goodell is having in the middle, Solon is really keying in on her, which gives [player_tooltip player_id='833174' first='Jazzie' last='Dodd'] one-on-one attacks on the outside.</li> <!-- /wp:list-item --> <!-- wp:list-item --> <li>Humboldt and Goodell have made a good adjustment. Solon was taking away her shot to left back and now she's starting to hit to her left (Waldorf was leading her that way), and she's finding points in zone one.</li> <!-- /wp:list-item --> <!-- wp:list-item --> <li>There's no split in the Humboldt block. Their right side and middles are really good about lining up together and waiting for the attacker to swing.&nbsp; They don't get tooled and if they do they have a defender waiting. </li> <!-- /wp:list-item --></ul> <!-- /wp:list --> <!-- wp:list --> <ul class="wp-block-list"><!-- wp:list-item --> <li>Near the end of set three, Solon has done a nice job adjusting to Goodell and picking up the attack from Waldorf. They just need to string together a run to make Humboldt call another timeout.</li> <!-- /wp:list-item --> <!-- wp:list-item --> <li>Solon does exactly what it needs to: stringing points together with really aggressive serving, clean defense and staying aggressive even while down. We're tied at 22 in the third set.</li> <!-- /wp:list-item --> <!-- wp:list-item --> <li>Big swing by Solon's freshman Bishop and Solon finishes off set three heading to set four. </li> <!-- /wp:list-item --></ul> <!-- /wp:list --> <!-- wp:heading --> <h2 class="wp-block-heading"><strong>Cherokee vs. Dike-New Hartford</strong></h2> <!-- /wp:heading --> <!-- wp:list --> <ul class="wp-block-list"><!-- wp:list-item --> <li>[player_tooltip player_id='493982' first='Deidra' last='Doeden'] has such a presence for Cherokee. She can attack from anywhere. When you have a setter/right side combo player like [player_tooltip player_id='574225' first='Addy' last='Wolfswinkel'], that's a really unique combination teams don't see a lot of along with their other attackers who are really physical and athletic.</li> <!-- /wp:list-item --> <!-- wp:list-item --> <li>Dike-New Hartford might lose set two, but they're gaining a lot of momentum heading into set three. Their defense is so organized. For Cherokee, though, if they can get clean swings, they're going to be really tough to stop. </li> <!-- /wp:list-item --> <!-- wp:list-item --> <li>Cherokee is just so athletic and physical. This team has been to state in years past, and they've been to state basketball too, so they know what it's like to play games like this.</li> <!-- /wp:list-item --> <!-- wp:list-item --> <li>Cherokee [player_tooltip player_id='918847' first='Ireland' last='Kennedy'] has such a clean platform in serve receive. She'll even make the diving plays to keep a rally alive. She's just fun to watch, a really good athlete who has solid command of the court. </li> <!-- /wp:list-item --> <!-- wp:list-item --> <li>Cherokee is really covering the cross-court shot from Dike-New Hartford, their block is keying in on it and the defenders are waiting. </li> <!-- /wp:list-item --> <!-- wp:list-item --> <li>The Dike-New Hartford setter [player_tooltip player_id='893076' first='Kailyn' last='Meester'] is really racking up the digs: 20 digs and 38 assists in set four. With the formation of defense DNH is playing (rotational), she's sitting right behind the block, so she's able to clean up the tips and junk behind it. </li> <!-- /wp:list-item --> <!-- wp:list-item --> <li>I'm amazed by the defense Cherokee and Dike-New Hartford are playing. There have been a lot of plays where I thought for sure the ball was down, and someone slid into the gap and made a play. They have scouted each other extremely well. These teams have to be so frustrating to play against because they never let the ball drop.</li> <!-- /wp:list-item --> <!-- wp:list-item --> <li>Cherokee's libero took a tumble at 21-16 in set four. It's definitely warm in here, and it's pretty humid outside. The floor is slick.</li> <!-- /wp:list-item --> <!-- wp:list-item --> <li>Dike-New Hartford keeps battling, but the firepower from Cherokee is just too much for a four set win advancing to the semifinals.</li> <!-- /wp:list-item --></ul> <!-- /wp:list -->