Top Class 1A Players Look To Breakthrough To State Tournament

Prep Dig Kansas features five Top Performers At the Kansas Klassic

Chris Fitzgerald October 28, 2020 @ 11:16 AM

One more night to punch tickets! Class 1A and 2A squads will be heading into their regional final with a chance to earn their spot to Cedar Rapids where 40 teams will have the chance to compete for a state title in their respective classes. Here are some top players who are going to be looking to lead their teams tonight with hopes of getting another chance to play next week! Jaylen Bork and [player_tooltip player_id="79286" first="Ellie" last="Hilbrands"] - MMCRU MMCRU will be going up against Gehlen Catholic, who has the experience and upper hand from earlier meetings this season, but this Senior/Junior combo have been electric the past couple seasons. They have combined for nearly 700 kills this season. Look for plenty of energy and a tightly contested match at South O’Brien tonight. [caption id="attachment_96630" align="alignright" width="225"]<img class="size-medium wp-image-96630" src="https://prephoops-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com/pd/uploads/2020/05/IMG_9728-225x300.jpg" alt="" width="225" height="300" /> [player_tooltip player_id="79012" first="Allie" last="Petry"], class of 2021.[/caption] [player_tooltip player_id="79012" first="Allie" last="Petry"] - Council Bluffs St. Albert Committed to Iowa State St. Albert vs. Newell-Fonda - hmmm. Familiar matchup. Newell-Fonda defeated St. Albert in the quarterfinals of the girls state basketball tournament where many of these players were in that matchup. Petry will head to Iowa State to continue her volleyball career. She’s had quite the career, being a key player for Nebraska Elite out of Omaha for club volleyball, and will be looking to make a return trip to Cedar Rapids. With over 300 kills and 200 digs, the Saintes will look to go through her for their success.   [player_tooltip player_id="41244" first="Gabby" last="Gergen"] - Janesville Committed to Wayne State Gergen has had an illustrious career for Janesville which has included plenty of matches on the floor of the US Cellular Center. Janesville always seems to reload as Gergen has plenty of targets to dish to with Pyper McCarville, Marra Fitzgerald, Chloe Kiene, and Mackenzie Bengen. They will take on a pesky North Butler squad who is currently at 24-5.   Jenna Bentz - Burlington Notre Dame Burlington knocked off a veteran Holy Trinity Catholic squad who was in the state tournament in 2019 with a five set thriller, with the final set going in favor of the Nikes 15-12. Bentz had 54 assists with double digit attackers [player_tooltip player_id="108426" first="Gabby" last="Deery"] (18 kills), [player_tooltip player_id="103711" first="Katy" last="Stephens"] (17 kills), and Josie Bentz (15 kills). They will take on WACO, a team with 20 plus wins that was defeated 3-1 by Notre Dame in early October.   Brooklyn Hackbart - St. Ansgar [caption id="attachment_74617" align="alignright" width="300"]<img class="size-medium wp-image-74617" src="https://prephoops-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com/pd/uploads/2019/12/IMG_4567.jpg" alt="" width="300" height="200" /> Kuehl[/caption] St. Ansgar is another squad who is building off a final four state basketball run earlier this year and have a 22-4 record. Their only conference loss was to number one in 3A, Osage where the two schools are both from Mitchell County in Northeast Iowa. Hackbart leads a trio of attackers for the Saints that also include Blayne Koster and Gracie Urbatsch. They will take on Wapsie Valley who were the state runner-ups in 2019. [player_tooltip player_id="17239" first="Saari" last="Kuehl"] - Gladbrook Reinbeck Committed to Southwest Minnesota State Kuehl played in the state tournament as a Sophomore as the Rebels caught fire in the postseason to run into Janesville in the quarterfinals. The script is a little different this year as GR is carrying a 31-2 record and Kuehl has over 350 kills. They will take on Stanton in Norwalk tonight.