Update on the Top NW Iowa and SE South Dakota Teams

<p>The 2018 volleyball regular season is already halfway over for high school, nearing post-season play in less than a month. Here’s an update on how the top teams of Northwest Iowa and Southeast South Dakota are doing.</p> <p>&nbsp;</p> <p><u>Northwest Iowa Top 5 Teams:</u></p> <p>1. Western Christian</p> <p>Western Christian is 11-2 overall, logging big wins over Nebraska cross-over matches at the Bellevue Invite against Skutt Catholic and Papillion-LaVista as well as a South Dakota match-up versus Sioux Falls Christian. Coached by Tammi Veerbeek, the Wolfpack is undefeated in conference. Western Christian’s offense is directed by junior <strong>[player_tooltip player_id="78438" first="Olivia" last="Granstra"]</strong> with 197 assists and junior <strong>[player_tooltip player_id="78454" first="Macay" last="Van’t Hul"]</strong> with 104 kills, with senior <strong>Madison Hofman</strong> manning the back row with 209 digs. The team faces a big match-up against Sergeant Bluff-Luton on Thursday.</p> <p>&nbsp;</p> <p>2. Unity Christian</p> <p>Unity Christian is 12-4 on the season, earning big wins over MOC-Floyd Valley, Sioux Falls Christian, and Southwest Minnesota Christian. The Knights, coached by Patty Timmermans, recently faced tough competition at their home tournament, falling to Sergeant Bluff-Luton and Kuemper. Undefeated in conference, the Lady Knights face Hinton on Tuesday. The team is led by senior <strong>[player_tooltip player_id="40771" first="Corrina" last="Timmermans"]</strong> in kills with 84, senior <strong>Erin Wieringa</strong> with 191 assists, and 75 digs by sophomore <strong>Janie Schoonhoven.</strong></p> <p>&nbsp;</p> <p>3. MOC Floyd-Valley</p> <p>Coached by Kate Boersma, MOC enters the week with a 10-2 overall season record. The team earned big victories over Sergeant Bluff-Luton and Sheldon early in the season, later falling to Sioux Falls Christian and Unity Christian. The squad faces tough rival match-up against Sioux Center this Tuesday. The team is led by sophomore <strong>Jazlin De Haan</strong> with 153 kills, senior <strong>Jadeyn Schutt </strong>running the offense with 287 assists, and sophomore <strong>Kiernan Groendyke</strong> with 93 digs in the back row.</p> <p>&nbsp;</p> <p>4. Sergeant Bluff-Luton</p> <p>This 18-2 squad is coached by Renee Winkel and is currently undefeated in Missouri River conference with a big recent win over Unity at the Unity Christian Tournament. The Warriors are led by sophomore <strong>[player_tooltip player_id="40889" first="Kenzie" last="Foley"]</strong> in kills with 220. Close behind is <strong>[player_tooltip player_id="40750" first="Madison" last="Harms"]</strong> (2019 South Dakota commit) with 164 kills, 468 assists by senior <strong>[player_tooltip player_id="40826" first="Maya" last="Schmidt"]</strong>, and sophomore <strong>[player_tooltip player_id="41249" first="Mia" last="Gamet"]</strong> manning the back row with 158 digs.</p> <p>&nbsp;</p> <p>5. Bishop Heelan</p> <p>The Crusaders, coached by Mary Miller, are 10-3 on the season. After a tough preseason at the Bellevue Invite where they lost match-ups to Skutt Catholic and Millard South, Heelan is undefeated in the Missouri River Conference. The team will face in-conference rival, Sergeant Bluff-Luton on October 9^th. Senior <strong>[player_tooltip player_id="40814" first="Nicole" last="Jacobson"]</strong> leads the Crusaders in kills with 214, sophomore <strong>Jordyn Knapp</strong> running the offense with 304 assists, and sophomore <strong>Taylor Wilshire</strong> directing the defensive with 272 digs.</p> <p>&nbsp;</p> <p><u>Southeast South Dakota Top 3 Teams:</u></p> <p>1. Sioux Falls Christian</p> <p>The Chargers, coached by Darci Wassenaar, hold the #1 ranking in South Dakota Class A with an 11-4 record on the season. SFC played a tough Iowa cross-over schedule, capturing a victory over MOC Floyd-Valley and losing to Western Christian and Unity Christian. The team is led by senior <strong>Kylie Van Egdom</strong> (2019 Northern State commit) in kills. SFC will face fellow in-conference rival EPJ, also undefeated in conference, this Thursday.</p> <p>&nbsp;</p> <p>2. Elk Point-Jefferson</p> <p>15-2 overall, the EPJ Huskies are undefeated in conference play with a big match-up against the #1 team in Class A, Sioux Falls Christian on Thursday. EPJ is coached by Traci Kollbaum and competes in the DAK12 conference. The Huskies took down rival Dakota Valley in 5 sets earlier this season, the first time they’ve done so since 2011. EPJ also played local Iowa team, Sioux City West, defeating the Wolverines in 3. Lead by <strong>Carlie Corder</strong> in kills and setter <strong>Karly Marx</strong> directing the lethal offense, the Huskies are paving the way to do big things post-season. </p> <p>&nbsp;</p> <p>3. Dakota Valley</p> <p>Currently 11-5 on the season, the Lady Panthers are ranked 10^th in the state in Class A. Also a DAK12 contender, the team has faced a tough early schedule, losing to Elk Point-Jefferson in 5 and Sioux Falls Christian in 4. Coached by Amy Wiseman, the Panthers competed in a NW Iowa cross-over tournament earlier this season where they defeated top Iowa teams: LeMars, Gehlen Catholic, Hinton, and Lawton Bronson, ending the tournament with a loss to Sergeant Bluff-Luton. The team is led by <strong>Rachel Wente</strong> in kills and directed by setter <strong>Ally Beresford</strong> (2020 Sioux Falls commit). Dakota Valley will begin post-season play the final week of October.</p>