Bracket Breakdown: Plenty of Contenders in 5A
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The Iowa Girls High School Athletic Union released regional volleyball pairings on Wednesday. The Class 5A field is filled with intrigue after an often unpredictable regular season. Region 1 Top Seed: Dowling Catholic Others: Linn-Mar, Southeast Polk, Des Moines Lincoln,…
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Continue ReadingThe Iowa Girls High School Athletic Union released regional volleyball pairings on Wednesday. The Class 5A field is filled with intrigue after an often unpredictable regular season.
Region 1
Top Seed: Dowling Catholic
Others: Linn-Mar, Southeast Polk, Des Moines Lincoln, Des Moines North.
Players to Watch: Kenzie Dean Kenzie Dean 6'3" | OH Dowling Catholic | 2024 State #145 Nation IA , Dowling; Ella Rogers Ella Rogers 6'1" | S Dowling | 2025 State IA , Dowling; Ellie Muller Ellie Muller 6'3" | MB Dowling Catholic | 2026 State IA , Dowling; Kate Passmore Kate Passmore 6'0" | MB Linn-Mar | 2025 State IA , Linn-Mar; Tessa Casebolt, Linn-Mar; Karsyn Michael, Linn-Mar; Ava Goldsberry, Southeast Polk; Kennedy Harris, Southeast Polk; Alyssa Bird, DM Lincoln.
Outlook: Dowling is a heavy favorite to reach the state tournament for the 12th season in a row, the longest active streak in this class. The Maroons are enjoying a super season with wins against Centennial, Waukee Northwest, Valley, Johnston and others. Linn-Mar is a good team that gives itself a chance if it plays well as it showed in a 3-1 victory against Iowa City High at Xtreme Arena last month.
Region 2
Top Seed: Ankeny Centennial
Others: Council Bluffs Lincoln, Sioux City West, Iowa City West, Waterloo East
Players to Watch: Delaney Miller, Centennial; Jaeden Pratt Jaeden Pratt MB Ankeny Centennial | 2025 State IA , Centennial; Kambria Leazer, Centennial; Hutson Rau, CB Lincoln; Lydia Dix, CB Lincoln; Molly Romano Molly Romano 5'10" | S Council Bluffs Abe Lincoln | 2024 State IA , CB Lincoln; Hannah Burge, SC West; Korbin Olorundami Korbin Olorundami 5'4" | DS/L Sioux City West | 2026 State IA , SC West; Sophia Austen Sophia Austen 6'1" | OH Iowa City West | 2027 IA , IC West.
Outlook: Like Dowling, Centennial is a heavy favorite to be back at State. It would be the fourth trip in a row for the Jaguars. Council Bluffs Lincoln checks in at No. 15 in this week’s IGHSAU rankings. The Lynx own a victory over 11th-ranked Waukee.
Region 3
Top Seed: Waukee Northwest
Others: Sioux City East, Sioux City North, Ames, Cedar Rapids Jefferson
Players to Watch: Katrina Pelds, Northwest; Chloe Jones Chloe Jones 5'11" | OH Waukee Northwest | 2024 State IA , Northwest; Kamryn Vogt Kamryn Vogt 6'0" | MB Waukee Northwest | 2024 State IA , Northwest; Olivia Mentzer, SC East; Mackenzie Crawford, SC East; Hollie Peterson Hollie Peterson 6'0" | S Sioux City East | 2025 State IA , SC East; Ava Lloyd Ava Lloyd 5'9" | OH Sioux City North | 2026 State IA , SC North; Sidney Chamberlain, SC North; D’Niaya Settles D’Niaya Settles 5'10" | OH Ames | 2024 State IA , Ames.
Outlook: Like its central Iowan neighbors Dowling and Centennial, Waukee Northwest enjoys a favorable path to its second consecutive appearance at Xtreme Arena in Coralville. The Wolves rank No. 3 in the IGHSAU poll behind those two schools with wins against Dowling, Cedar Falls, Waukee, Valley and Ankeny on their resume. Sioux City East is 3-0 against Sioux City North this season.
Region 4
Top Seed: Cedar Falls
Others: Dubuque Hempstead, Waterloo West, Bettendorf, Davenport West
Players to Watch: Brynn Bakula Brynn Bakula 5'8" | S Cedar Falls | 2026 State IA , Cedar Falls; Paige Paup, Cedar Falls; Annistyn Wedgbury Annistyn Wedgbury 5'5" | DS/L Cedar Falls | 2026 State IA , Cedar Falls; Addison Wright, Hempstead; Alyssa Jaeger, Hempstead; Emma Boge, Hempstead; Jada Smith, Waterloo West; Danica Wrage, Waterloo West; Allyson Landers, Waterloo West; Makenna Miller, Bettendorf.
Outlook: Cedar Falls saw its streak of seven state tournament appearances in a row end last season. The Tigers have looked focused in pursuit of making it just a one-year absence with 21-3 record, which includes a win against Dowling. Hempstead is ranked 14th by the IGHSAU and Waterloo West owns a 3-0 win against Linn-Mar earlier this week.
Region 5
Top Seed: Pleasant Valley
Others: Dubuque Senior, Cedar Rapids Prairie, Davenport North, Davenport Central
Players to Watch: Isabelle Kremer Isabelle Kremer 6'3" | RS Pleasant Valley | 2026 State IA , Pleasant Valley; Stella Smith Stella Smith 6'1" | MB Pleasant Valley | 2025 State IA , Pleasant Valley; Lauren Brohm, Pleasant Valley; Brooke Sullivan, Senior; Cambel Drapeau Cambel Drapeau 6'2" | MB Dubuque Senior | 2026 State IA , Senior; Sophie Link, Senior; Carly Wazac Carly Wazac 6'1" | RS Prairie | 2025 State IA , Prairie; Ryann Decker, Prairie; Taylor Ray Taylor Ray 5'9" | S Prairie | 2025 State IA , Prairie; Addison Miller, North; Madison VanDerLeest, Central.
Outlook: Pleasant Valley seeks a third consecutive trip to the state title match, winning it all in ’21 before falling to Liberty last fall. The fifth-ranked Spartans claim a victory against Valley, and 3-0 sweeps against Davenport North and Central in ’23. Senior is ranked ninth but fell, 21-12, 21-11, to PV at last weekend’s Western Dubuque Tournament. The Spartans also own a 21-10, 24-22 victory against Prairie from the Iowa City West Tournament in August.
Region 6
Top Seed: West Des Moines Valley
Others: Iowa City High, Muscatine, Cedar Rapids Kennedy, Cedar Rapids Washington
Players to Watch: Elise Jaeger, Valley; Kaelyn Wieland Kaelyn Wieland 5'8" | S West Des Moines Valley | 2026 State IA , Valley; Finley McAndrew, Valley; Claire Ernst Claire Ernst 6'0" | OH City | 2024 State IA , City; Emmy McComas Emmy McComas 6'0" | MB Iowa City | 2025 State IA , City; Sidney Slay, City; Brylee Seaman, Muscatine; Belle Seaman Belle Seaman 5'9" | S Muscatine | 2027 IA , Muscatine; Avery Schroeder, Muscatine; Adalyn Hermanson Adalyn Hermanson 5'9" | RS CR Kennedy | 2025 State IA , Kennedy; Kylie Johannes, Kennedy; Breanna Franklin, Washington.
Outlook: Valley looks to play at state for a second year in a row and for seventh time in the last eight seasons. The Tigers need a pair of wins against Eastern Iowa programs to do so. Their resume includes victories against Dowling, Waukee, Waukee Northwest and Ankeny but they have not faced any of the other teams in this bracket. City owns wins against currently-ranked teams in Council Bluffs Lincoln, Hempstead and Marion (4A), while Muscatine claims a 3-0 triumph against 3A No. 4 Davenport Assumption.
Region 7
Top Seed: Johnston
Others: Waukee, Des Moines Roosevelt, Marshalltown, Des Moines East
Players to Watch: Jadeyn Pundt, Johnston; Ava Helming Ava Helming 6'0" | MB Johnston | 2024 State IA , Johnston; Josie Pundt Josie Pundt 6'0" | OH Johnston | 2024 State IA , Johnston; Maggie Craig, Waukee; Hannah Thole, Waukee; Stella Braddock, Waukee; Asialin Powell, Roosevelt; Nani Bell, Roosevelt; Gaby Estabrook, Marshalltown; Stella Braddock, East.
Outlook: Seventh-ranked Johnston and No. 11 Waukee appear destined to meet in the Region 7 Final after Johnston swept the Warriors, 3-0, on Tuesday, their fifth win in a row in the series. The Dragons also boast victories against Valley, Xavier, Centennial and Indianola (No. 2 in 4A). Waukee also can play with the top teams as evidenced by a pair of wins against Valley.
Region 8
Top Seed: Ankeny
Others: Iowa City Liberty, Ottumwa, Urbandale, Council Bluffs Jefferson
Players to Watch: Kamryn Scheib, Ankeny; Baileigh Carlsen Baileigh Carlsen 5'9" | DS/L Ankeny | 2025 State IA , Ankeny; Reagan Hanfelt Reagan Hanfelt 6'0" | MB Ankeny | 2025 State IA , Ankeny; Asta Hildebrand Asta Hildebrand S Iowa City Liberty | 2025 State IA , Liberty; Lucy Maassen Lucy Maassen 5'8" | OH Liberty | 2026 State IA , Liberty; Ellie Wilson Ellie Wilson 5'9" | OH Iowa City Liberty | 2027 IA , Liberty; Miya Fuller, Ottumwa; Camdyn Crouse, Ottumwa; Piper Ladwig Piper Ladwig 6'3" | OH Waukee Northwest | 2027 IA , Urbandale.
Outlook: Ankeny is after its sixth trip to state in a row and 20th appearance in the last 21 years, which is mind boggling. Waukee, Waukee Northwest, Pleasant Valley, Cedar Falls, Liberty, Johnston and Indianola all are wins on the eighth-ranked Hawks’ resume. Defending state champion Liberty is 0-2 against them this year but the Lightning do have wins against Waukee, Ankeny and City.