Prospects With Veteran Confidence To Look Out For In The 5A Class

<h2 class="wp-block-heading">With the club season coming to a close, it's time to take an early look at some of the schools to watch out for this fall.</h2>   Although I am saddened to see another club season come to an end, I am so excited to see what the fall of 2026 has in store for high school volleyball. In this article, I'm going to be talking about teams that I think are going to be coming into the season hot. I'll also be shouting out some players who I believe will make big impacts on those teams.   Waukee Northwest: I want to start with the 2026 5A state champions- Waukee Northwest, coached by Jodi Vogt. After they had an amazing run in the 2024 State Tournament, falling short in the Championship, the Wolves wanted revenge. Going through the 2025 season with their eyes locked on the prize, they weren't going to be stopped. With only two seniors graduating, I think this season is going to be very similar. On top of the Wolves already having a ton of depth, they also have quite a few impressive underclassmen coming through the program. Although they have a key role to fill after graduating setter Avery Vogt, I think they are going to be very successful this upcoming season.    Beginning with [player_tooltip player_id='555820' first='London' last='Taylor'], the 2027 libero was a huge part of Waukee's success this past season. Taylor averaged 3.8 digs/set this season and 6.7 digs/set in the State Championship. She does a phenomenal job reading her opponents and putting herself in the best position to get the dig. In addition to her outstanding reading ability, she is one of those libs who refuse to let a ball drop. Lastly, she plays with composure and knows how to keep her team right there with her. If Waukee comes out on top once again, you know they'll have Taylor running that back row.     Next up, we have [player_tooltip player_id='545971' first='Avery' last='Cordes'], a player who has proven once again why she is so highly ranked. Although Cordes wasn't used much on the offensive side in the state championship, she played a huge role defensively. The MB averaged about 2 blocks per set through the whole tournament, and those blocks stayed consistent throughout the season. Offensively, the sophomore racked up 185 kills and 28 aces during the season. With the amount of maturity she has shown in her gameplay the last two years, I am very excited to see how she leads this team as an upperclassman.     The last Wolf we are looking at is [player_tooltip player_id='490011' first='Leah' last='Janulewicz']. Leah is definitely one of those players who can do it all and do it well. Going off the high school topic, Janulewicz will be competing with her club team in the Open division at the GJNC (which is already incredibly impressive), but she will be playing as their libero. I wanted to bring up this fact because, although Leah did play a huge role in the back row this season, she was an even bigger asset in the front row. The junior OH showcased her high IQ and impressive range, being a dependable hitter for the Wolves all season. Throughout the tournament, she averaged 3.5 kills per set and used that high IQ to get her team out of tough situations. With Waukee graduating captain Avery Vogt, I'm excited to hopefully see Leah step into a new leadership role.    Dowling Catholic: This team is no stranger when it comes to successful seasons. The Maroons- coached by Mary Wiskus, have been punching their ticket to the tournament for quite some time now. After multiple heartbreaks and tough losses, this group is due for a success story. Although they are graduating four seniors, this team has a promising group of underclassmen ready to fill those positions. They may not have gotten the results that they wanted in the 2025 postseason, but I think that's going to make them even more driven towards success this year.    You can't talk about Dowling without talking about the Klein sisters. Although they play the same position, they have very different styles of playing. There's no debate that they are both key players for the Maroons. My favorite thing about Kennedy is that, although she is an underclassman, she plays with so much maturity. In situations where most sophomores want to try and go for a flashy kill, Kennedy finds the smartest option. Whether that's an aggressive tip to the deep corner, a tool shot, or simply just getting the opponent out of system, she can read and adapt. She also brings that same game play to her serve receive, almost always giving her setter multiple offensive options. I am very excited to see how she contributes to her team this fall.     One of the biggest differences between the Klein sisters is their offensive gameplay. As I stated, Kennedy likes to utilize all of her options (like tipping, rolling, tooling, etc) to find those open shots. Likewise, Kaylie finds those same open spots on the court, but she can rip away like no other. Between her skill set, high IQ, and confidence in her game play, there are lots of times where she leaves me wondering, "How did she just find that spot and still manage to rip the ball?" and I'm sure I'm not the only one. She makes her transition to approach so quickly and effortlessly. Defensively, Kaylie does a phenomenal job of staying dominant on her block and assertive in the back row. The last thing that the Klein sisters both excel in is scrappiness. No matter where the ball is, they won't hesitate to chase it down and lay out before letting it hit the floor.    Valley: The Tigers showed this past year that they are not a team to undermine. Following a decent regular season, Valley, who is coached by Jeremy Mikesell, kicked it into high gear and made quite the run in the postseason. After two back-to-back sweeps in their regional tournament, the Tigers went on to upset #3-seeded Pleasant Valley in the quarterfinals of the State Tournament. Although they had a tough loss to Ankeny Centennial in the semis, they showed everyone that they won't go down without a fight.    There is a reason why Myla is so highly talked about is not that she makes the flashiest plays. It's actually quite the opposite; she finds a way to stay scrappy, but also play clean and calm, even in those stressful situations. She leaves little to no room for error on serve receive, doing a phenomenal job of running the back row. Defensively, Rude truly makes it look easy, even when she is going up against D1 commits. She does a great job of reading her opponents and getting herself in the best position to get the dig, making it easy for her setter to run the offense.     When I think of players that can do it all, [player_tooltip player_id='443086' first='Brynn' last='Cibula'] is always an athlete that comes to mind. She always finds a way to contribute and make an impact, no matter where she is on the court. Offensively, she's able to use her speed and strong swing to put a ball away no matter where her set is. Her range when she is out of system is especially impressive, finding ways to stay aggressive and still put a ball away, even when she's off the net. She is also a solid contributor defensively, with a solid block as well as effortless defense in the back row. This player truly just has amazing control from the service line to the next; she knows how to get it all done. I'm hoping that after a great high school season and a solid club season, she's able to move up a few spots in the rankings.    Ankeny Centennial: This is another team that I think is long overdue for a title. The Jaguars, coached by Jessica Rinehart, have been so close for so many years, and I think this season will be the same (but hopefully with a title at the end). Despite the team graduating quite a few talented players this year, they have a very strong group of underclassmen who are hungry and ready to put in the work. If they can create team cohesion early on, I think they have a very strong chance of going all the way this upcoming season.    Sophia is another one of my favorite players that I've watched over the last two years. She has this type of aggression that you can only see in a few middles in Iowa. Although she might not tower over others, she plays like she's the tallest on the court. No matter where she's at on the court or who's on the other side, she's going to stay aggressive and do whatever she needs to do to put the ball away. You will never see her give up in a rally, whether that's with her blocking, hitting, or even getting an extra touch here or there when needed. Although I am giving her a lot of props for her aggression, she is always playing with a smile. Heither always stays positive and encouraging for her team and never lets them get down on themselves. I am incredibly excited to see how she comes into her senior year and the impact that she'll leave on her team.     Ellie is another junior who I think is going to make a big impact in her final season. With Centennial graduating six, Ellie is going to help guide this team to a successful year. With Pollock quickly finding her footing as a six-rotation OH this past season, I'm hoping she can go into this upcoming season with a new level of confidence and leadership. Although the championship game might not have gone the way the Jaguars wanted, I was able to see how selfless Pollock truly played. No matter the score, she was making sure she was doing everything in her power to keep her team in the game. Whether it was her grit in the back row or her smart, fast thinking in the front row, she wasn't going to give up, and she made sure her team didn't either.