IGHSAU State Day 1 – Stars, Storylines, and Statements
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Before I go any further into a recap of the day, I can’t say how much I love covering the Iowa State Volleyball Tournament. I cover events across the country – high school and club, and this one is the…
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Continue ReadingBefore I go any further into a recap of the day, I can’t say how much I love covering the Iowa State Volleyball Tournament. I cover events across the country – high school and club, and this one is the best.
Throughout the day I am taking photos, tweets, and plenty of notes. What I’m looking for are the new players, the performances that maybe don’t show up on the stat sheet, and what would people miss that aren’t in the arena. I could write plenty more, but I still have 12 matches left today. Bring it on.
Here is what you need to know from day one of the Iowa Girls State Volleyball Tournament.
Ava Groeteke Ava Groeteke 6'1" | RS Dowling | 2026 State IA – Dowling
Dowling has a lot of length. I knew about the likes of Kenzie Dean Kenzie Dean 6'3" | OH Dowling Catholic | 2024 State #145 Nation IA , Ella Rogers Ella Rogers 6'1" | S Dowling | 2025 State IA , and Ellie Muller Ellie Muller 6'3" | MB Dowling Catholic | 2026 State IA who are over six feet tall with quite the wingspan. I was not familiar with Ava Groeteke Ava Groeteke 6'1" | RS Dowling | 2026 State IA on the right side. The 6’2 sophomore came up key offensively and defensively. Her upside is huge with her high contact point. She is a 2026 who is soaring up the radar.
Elise Jaeger – Valley
Jaeger brings some swag to the court and rightfully so, she’s going to be one of the top athletes out there. The UNI basketball recruit showed how dynamic she could be with her block, and then transitioning to hit a variety of tempos with different shots.
The Ankeny Juniors – Baileigh Carlsen Baileigh Carlsen 5'9" | DS/L Ankeny | 2025 State IA , Kamryn Scheib, and Reagan Hanfelt Reagan Hanfelt 6'0" | MB Ankeny | 2025 State IA played a statement match today. Ankeny was down 0-2 with Centennial carrying all the moment. The season hasn’t gone as planned for the Hawks with two D1 commits out with injury in Tanith Roush Tanith Roush 6'0" | RS Ankeny | 2024 State IA (North Dakota State) and Aowyn Schrader Aowyn Schrader 6'1" | OH Ankeny | 2024 State #147 Nation IA (Middle Tennessee State). The Hawks found their momentum in set three with Reagan Hanfelt Reagan Hanfelt 6'0" | MB Ankeny | 2025 State IA serving lasers and dominating with the slide out of the middle. Kamryn Scheib has been a breakout player to know who did it from every rotation taking a bulk of the serve receive while continuing to swing to put pressure on the defense. Carlsen was everywhere. She’s heading to Auburn, which is one of the hottest programs in the SEC. This might not have gone how the Hawks wanted but they showed what could be an exciting season in 2024.
Anna Sash – Ankeny Centennial
Jaeden Pratt Jaeden Pratt MB Ankeny Centennial | 2025 State IA and Delaney Miller were going to score a lot of points from the outside. But Sash was there when the Jags needed her the most. She would tip, throw, swing, and close the block while also keeping tabs on Reagan Hanfelt Reagan Hanfelt 6'0" | MB Ankeny | 2025 State IA , the dominant middle from Ankeny. This resulted in a state record, seven solo blocks in a match.
Mya Lei-Butters Mya Lei-Butters 5'1" | DS/L Ankeny Centennial | 2026 State IA – Ankeny Centennial
For being a sophomore in a very intense situation, Mya Lei Butters was cool, calm, and collected. Whether it was putting up a three point pass, coverage on a block, picking up a tip, she did a lot of dirty work in this match to keep the rally alive and for the Jags to play another day.
Stella Smith Stella Smith 6'1" | MB Pleasant Valley | 2025 State IA and 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 is incredibly efficient. She adjusts well to her setter and what’s open on the other side of the net. If the opening isn’t there, she’s not going to force it. However, if she has an opening – it’s done. She’s got the shots and physicality to cause a lot of problems for the other side. The numbers don’t lie where she had 14 kills, hitting .429.
Kremer is a mismatch nightmare where she would be on the right side and play a bit on the outside as well. She is long, athletic, and is starting to become the big dog for PV after coming in as a freshman last year. Her efficiency is high and her block gives problems for whatever attacker she is matched up against.
Chloee Hayes – Waukee NW
What a fast arm. I knew Northwest had the experience. I had seen a lot of their players during the club season. I think Kamryn Vogt Kamryn Vogt 6'0" | MB Waukee Northwest | 2024 State IA is an amazing athlete out of the middle, their pins are terminal, and there is very little weakness to expose on this team. I did not know much about Hayes.. The block was not ready for her at all. She was hitting all the angles, tooling the block, and making it look easy picking up 9 kills while hitting over .350. If NW can stay in system with their middles they are going to be tough to stop.
Makenzie Sloan Makenzie Sloan 5'11" | MB Indianola | 2025 State IA and Maci Lerseth Maci Lerseth 5'6" | DS/L Indianola | 2025 State IA – Indianola
So dynamic. Sloan was everywhere where she could close the block, transition, and be available for a variety of tempos. She was also clutch with her block. Her connection with setter Tori Runyan Tori Runyan 5'9" | S Indianola | 2024 State IA was money. Runyan’s experience of knowing when to go to the middles was key. With their ability to feed the middles, outsides Camryn Overton Camryn Overton 5'11" | RS Indianola | 2025 State IA and Aspen Nelsen Aspen Nelsen 5'10" | OH Indianola | 2025 State IA could terminate with one on one opportunities. It was only fitting that Sloan got the final block to win the match in set five.
Lerseth should be creeping up the depth chart in terms of top liberos out or the Class of 2025 in Iowa. She has shown tremendous improvement in the past year and gets better each time I see her take the court. She has a great IQ, anticipates well, and is efficient with her platform. What does that mean? She’s relaxed, there’s no wasted movement when she’s passing the ball. She makes it look easy.
Carlee Webber Carlee Webber 6'0" | MB Marion | 2025 State IA – Marion
I wasn’t very familiar with Carlee Webber Carlee Webber 6'0" | MB Marion | 2025 State IA before today, but she made a huge statement! The 5’11 middle blocker was causing havoc for the outside duo for Indianola with multiple stuff blocks. She did her damage offensively looking for the corner with the slap shot to left back. Marion was so scrappy, great battle today in a five set loss to Indianola.
Kaci Johnson Kaci Johnson 5'8" | S North Scott | 2024 State IA – North Scott
Be a player before a position. As a coach I talk to the 8th graders about that the most. Do you want to be the fourth outside, or do you want to be someone who can play anywhere when called upon? Kaci Johnson Kaci Johnson 5'8" | S North Scott | 2024 State IA will play whatever she needs to. I’ve seen Johnson swing on the outside for Iowa Select. She’s an athlete, but playing setter and middle is not a common combination we see in the volleyball world. In the front row she plays middle (she’s 5’7 and works extremely hard) where she had 9 kills and hit over .300. She sets when she goes to the backrow and had 16 assists in their four set win. All in a day’s work.
Marissa Gerleman Marissa Gerleman 5'10" | MB ADM | 2024 State IA , Kaylee Smith, and Madi James Madi James 5'6" | DS/L Adel-Desoto-Minburn | 2025 State IA – ADM
Marissa Gerleman Marissa Gerleman 5'10" | MB ADM | 2024 State IA and Kaylee Smith were really unique as they were in the front row together. Having a lefty swing on the outside is difficult to navigate. Madie James was also very impressive commanding the backrow with a really soft, controlled platform where her serve receive was rock solid.
Brooke Larsen Brooke Larsen 5'11" | S CB Lewis Central | 2025 State IA – Lewis Central
19 kills, 18 assists, 14 digs. Absolutely electric. Larsen does it all for Lewis Central who ended the night with a 17-15 set five win to knock off defending state champs Xavier. The energy from the Titans (on the court and in the fan section) was unmatched. Same goes for Larsen where she was assisting, scoring, blocking, defending, she is impacting every play of the game and has a well balanced team to go with. Their matchup with Indianola is going to be quite the battle.