What New Names Will Be In The Updated Iowa 2022 Rankings?
We’re coming up on one year. Not to trigger the emotions from the weekend that was to be Iowa Regionals 2020 when the whole world shut down, but we’re coming up on a year. We went months without any live volleyball being played. And yes, even Prep Dig felt the effect of the pandemic from not being able to see athletes compete in tournaments across the country. Since our last rankings update for the Class of 2022, we’ve added nearly 70 players. Here are just a few who will be making their debut on our rankings. We will continue to evaluate athletes and also continue our process as to how we rank athletes. This provides a major database of names to college programs, but at the end of the day, a ranking does not define a player by any means. The Class of 2022 rankings for Iowa will be updated Monday, February 22.
Emma Salker Emma Salker 6'0" | MB Sergeant Bluff-Luton | 2022 State IA – Sergeant Bluff-Luton – MVP
Middle Blocker
Western Iowa will making a big impact in the rankings with the likes of top athletes from Sergeant Bluff-Luton and Boyden-Hull. Their athletes have been playing club at MVP out of Sioux City and showing major gains. I saw Salker at the state tournament for MVP and she moves extremely well in the middle with a high touch. As a middle blocker, she is extremely dynamic with how she can get from pin to pin while also being available to attack from multiple tempos.
Marissa Pottebaum Marissa Pottebaum 6'0" | MB Boyden-Hull | 2022 State IA – Boyden-Hull – MVP
Middle Blocker
Pottebaum was a major reason why Boyden-Hull had a successful season which landed them in the state tournament. Strong, physical, and a big time player who can contribute in the middle and could also be one who can score point from anywhere in the front row making connections with setter Jewell Bergstrom Jewell Bergstrom 5'9" | S Boyden-Hull | 2022 State IA . Boyden-Hull will be coming back in 2021 with a really strong Senior class after getting knocked out by Denver in the state quarterfinals. Look for the names of Macy Verhoef Macy Verhoef 5'10" | OH Boyden-Hull | 2022 IA ,
Allison Bonnette Allison Bonnette 5'10" | OH Denver | 2022 State IA and Libby Lansing Libby Lansing 6'0" | MB Western Dubuque | 2022 IA putting up quite a block for Flight. Bonnette was an All Tournament Team pick for Denver in Class 2A and Lansing was for Western Dubuque in Class 4A
— Chris Fitzgerald (@PrepDigChris) January 16, 2021
Reese Johnson Reese Johnson 5'9" | S Denver | 2022 State IA and Allison Bonnette Allison Bonnette 5'10" | OH Denver | 2022 State IA – Denver – Flight
Setter and Outside Hitter
Denver took the state tournament by storm (or should I say by “Cyclone”). These newcomers walked in and defeated Boyden-Hull, which was one of the best matches I saw all season, and then knocked off the most historic program in the state in Western Christian. Reese Johnson Reese Johnson 5'9" | S Denver | 2022 State IA does it all as a setter and has such great command of the court, a floor general in every way. She had over 1000 assists in her Junior campaign. Bonnette was one of her favorite targets who was a major impact player during the state tournament. Both of these athletes were named to the Class 2A All Tournament Team. Before focusing on returning to state volleyball, they still have unfinished business in basketball to make a return trip to “The Well”.
Lefty right side Lauren Williams Lauren Williams 5'9" | RS Council Bluffs St. Albert | 2022 State IA is touching extremely high. 5 kills and really causing problems for the Janesville outsides
St Albert 13
Janesville 7 pic.twitter.com/mjgB0BMFUQ— Chris Fitzgerald (@PrepDigChris) November 4, 2020
Lauren Williams Lauren Williams 5'9" | RS Council Bluffs St. Albert | 2022 State IA – Council Bluffs St. Albert – SWI
Right Side
Who is this kid? I kept on saying that at the state tournament when she put on a show against Janesville in the Saintes quarterfinal win. Williams is a 5’9 left handed, right side that can flat out fly. She can do some special things on the right side where she is tough to defend whether she is swinging away or tooling off the top of the block. With her athleticism, she can be used in a variety of ways and has a major upside.
Lot cell signals going on here. In wave two we have some standouts
Libby Lansing Libby Lansing 6'0" | MB Western Dubuque | 2022 IA – Flight 17U
Ella Barragy Ella Barragy 5'10" | MB Grundy Center | 2022 State IA – Flight 17U
Abby Savatski – RVA
Sierra Studer – RVA
Maddy Fortune – Balance (WI) pic.twitter.com/n8pfqa20L0— Chris Fitzgerald (@PrepDigChris) January 16, 2021
Ella Barragy Ella Barragy 5'10" | MB Grundy Center | 2022 State IA – Grundy Center – Six Pack/Flight
Middle Blocker/Right Side
Barragy is uber athletic out of the middle, but could also play on the right side. Long, athletic, and strong she can set the block while also being a threat to score in and out of system. Grundy Center is always a power in the Cedar Valley and her role will increase in the fall when the Spartans will replace Abby Hamann Abby Hamann 5'10" | OH Grundy Center | 2021 State IA who recorded over 400 kills her Senior season. Barragy has the ability to help in multiple ways offensively and defensively.
Mia Kunnert Mia Kunnert 5'6" | DS/L Dubuque Wahlert | 2022 State IA – Dubuque Wahlert – Adrenaline
Libero
Kunnert is extremely consistent from the backrow as a libero. She is the top libero at Wahlert and was very impressive at the Prep Dig Tour of Iowa Showcase a couple of weeks ago. Efficient footwork, relaxed platform, and knows how to get her side of the net in system. She has really risen among the liberos in this class and needs to be on the radar of college coaches.
Carly Rolf – Davenport Assumption – Platform Elite
Setter/Right Side
Rolf can do a lot of different things really well. For Platform Elite, I’ve seen her set and swing from the right side, but she can also defend her position and score points from the service line. She’s a bit of a swiss army knife player who can do whatever is needed for her team and still be extremely effective.
Arra Cottrell Arra Cottrell 6'0" | OH Pleasant Valley | 2022 State IA – Pleasant Valley – Platform Elite
OH/RS
I saw Cottrell hammer 18 kills in a quarterfinal win for Pleasant Valley against Cedar Falls at the state tournament and again at the Quad Cities Clash where she continued to be a point scorer. Cottrell can score from the left or right side and has a heavy swing with a lot of top spin on her ball. She can find the deep corner and use the block to her advantage where she can be really tough to defend.