By Ryan Murken

Your Prep Sports

IOWA CITY – Jaedynn Evans approached the net and jumped, contorting briefly in the air to get a hand on the volleyball.

Evans got enough velocity on the ball to land it between defenders for a kill, one of 12 for the Regina junior in a three-set sweep of Van Buren in the regional semifinals last week.

To a casual observer that particular play seemed pretty ordinary.  

It was anything but ordinary to the surprised Van Buren blockers attempting to stop the 5-foot-8 Evans on the play.

“After I hit it one girl looked at her coach and said ‘she hit that with her left hand’,” Evans said after the match. “I hear things like that sometimes.”

Of her 12 kills in the Class 2A, Region 8 semifinal last Thursday 11 came via right-handed swings.

That one kill was different and it wasn’t a fluke.

As Evans approached the net she swung with her left hand, avoiding the block for a cross-court kill.

“It definitely surprises people,” Evans said with a smile. “I’ll hear players ask, ‘Is she left-handed.”

The answer is no. Evans is righthanded.

But when it comes to hitting a volleyball (and eating) Evans is ambidextrous.

“My mom has always been big on teaching me to hit with both because she hit with both when she played. I’ll eat with my left hand just to use it more and work on motor skills.”

At the urging of her mother Evans started working on her left-handed swings when she was 12.

It started out as an experiment.

By the time Evans reached high school she was strong enough with her left hand that she could serve left-handed.

Now the ability to swing with either arm has helped Evans become one of the most dangerous hitters in Class 2A.

Evans has 257 kills this season for No. 11 Regina (27-8) entering Tuesday’s Region 8 title matchup with No. 12 Wilton (34-5) at 7 p.m. at West Liberty.

“It really helps if a ball is outside and I can’t reach it with my right hand it’s so much easier to hit that with my left,” Evans said. “That’s the biggest advantage.”

A transfer from Mid-Prairie where she had more than 600 kills in two seasons, Evans hasn’t just surprised opponents with her ability to hit with both arms.

The softball equivalent of a switch hitter in softball, Evans was taking swings from both sides in practice during the preseason when first-year head coach Jordyn Akers spotted her.

“She did it one day and I was like ‘what just happened?’,” Akers said. “It throws a lot of people off.”

Once she got used to the idea, Akers has been impressed with the versatility that the unique talent brings for Evans.

“It makes her a little more versatile and she can hit from either side so if she sees the block she can hit away from it,” Akers said. “It’s another tool in the shed which is cool to have.”

Evans has done more than just confuse opponents and collect kills this season.

The Central Michigan commit ranks  third on the team with a career-high 343 digs and has 26 blocks and 26 ace serves. “Jaedynn is all over the place on defense,” Akers said. “She could pick up a ball that is in one corner and chase another ball down in the other corner she has been a key to our defense this year which has been key for us.”

Evans had 21 kills in a five-set win over Wilton in the regular season and the Regals could use another strong game from the junior on Tuesday as they attempt to return to the state tournament for the first time since 2013.

“We expected to play them going in and we are just so excited to play them again,” Evans said. “They are a great team and to play them again is just huge.”

Class 2A, Region 8 Final

No. 11 Regina (27-8) vs. No. 12 Wilton (34-5) 

Where: West Liberty  

When: Tuesday, 7 p.m.

Player to watch: Wilton junior Aubrey Putman (5-11) ranks second in Class 2A with 482 kills including a match-high 32 in regular season meeting with Regina.  

What to Watch: A pair of River Valley Conference South Division rivals meet in a rematch of a regular season five-set thriller with the winner ending a state tournament drought.

Regina won the regular season meeting between the two teams in five sets in Wilton back on Sept. 19.

The Regals have won seven of their last eight after back-to-back regional sweeps of West Branch and Van Buren.

Meanwhile, Wilton has won 15 of its last 16 matches since the regular season loss to Regina including a sweep of Mediapolis in the regional semifinals last week.

The only loss for both Wilton and Regina in the month of October came at the RVC tournament to Camanche.

Both teams boast an impressive hitting duo.

Regina is led by juniors Alex Wiese (347 kills) and Jaedynn Evans (257 kills) while Wilton has its own set of dynamic juniors in Putman and Kortney Drake (264).

Wilton is seeking the fourth state tournament trip in program history and first since 2004 while Regina is attempting to reach the state tournament for the third time and first since 2013.