Ryan Murken

Your Prep Sports

Postseason volleyball is here.

Regional action begins on Tuesday for Classes 1A and 2A with the three largest classes getting into the postseason act on Wednesday.

Before the focus turns to what lies ahead postseason lets take a moment to reflect on some of the best volleyball of the season so far.

Here is a quick look back at some of the highlights from the volleyball regular season.

Best individual performance: Kelsey Law against Western Dubuque. The 5-foot-11 Law established herself as one of the premier hitters in the state this season leading Class 5A and ranking 12th in the state with 4.8 kills per set.

Never was the City High senior more impressive than during a five-set loss to Western Dubuque.

Law hammered a career-high 32 kills while hitting an eye-popping .508 and added nine digs and three ace serves.

Best team performance: Liberty High at Caroline Found Volleyball Extravaganza at West High. This was the Saturday the Lightning grabbed the attention of anyone that follows prep volleyball in the state.

Liberty High went 6-0 and dropped just one set while picking up wins over four ranked teams on its way to the title at the prestigious West High tournament.

The 6-0 performance featured wins over 5A sixth-ranked West Des Moines Dowling and fourth-ranked Ankeny.

Top tandem: Clear Creek Amana’s Calia Clubb and Hailey Pollock. The 6-foot-1 Clubb and 6-foot-2 Pollock have proven to be a handful for opponents this season combining for 611 kills, 80 blocks and 73 ace serves.

Clubb leads the Clippers with 332 kills and 47 aces while Pollock has 279 kills while hitting a team-best .351 to go with a team-high 63 blocks.

Coach of the year: Randy Dolson directed his team to 32 wins in a pair of solid seasons in the first two years of varsity volleyball at Liberty High. The Dolson-led Lightning have matched that win total this season while establishing themselves as one of the elite teams in the state.

Liberty High posted winning streaks of 13 and 19 matches, finished the regular season 32-2 and climbed to No. 2 in the Class 5A rankings in its third year of competition.

Best finish: City High at Johnston. How is this for closing out a road match against a top-15 team? Trailing two sets to one after a 25-23 loss in the third set the Little Hawks extended the match with a 25-23 win in the fourth and then rolled to a 15-3 win in the fifth set.

Biggest upset: Solon over Davenport Assumption. The Spartans went 2-2 at the Center Point-Urbana tournament earning its two biggest wins of the season.

Solon swept then Class 5A No. 15 Waterloo West and rallied to upset Class 3A top-ranked Davenport Assumption 17-21, 23-21, 15-11.

The loss was one of only five on the season for Assumption (29-5) with each of the other four setbacks coming to ranked opponents including three to Class 5A competition.

Best match: Clear Creek Amana over Benton Community. Clubb and Pollock combined for 43 kills and seven ace serves as the Clippers rallied from a two-set deficit for a wild WAMAC West road win.

Clear Creek Amana dropped the opening set 25-18 and trailed two sets to none following a 27-25 loss in the second before rattling off 25-22 and 25-12 wins to force a fifth set that the Clippers won 16-14.

Breakthrough performer: West Branch senior Kaiya Luneckas. A solid three-year varsity contributor Luneckas took her game to another level in her final prep season.

Luneckas has a career-high 282 kills, 102 more than her previous season-high, on a team-leading .278 hitting efficiency to lead the Bears.

The 6-foot senior also ranks second on the team with 166 digs and third with 55 blocks.

Best all-around player: Liberty High senior Rylee Fay. There isn’t much that Fay can’t do on the volleyball court. In her first season at Liberty High the Missouri State recruit led the Lightning with 465 assists and 61 ace serves, ranked sixth on the team with 68 kills and fourth with 97 digs. The 61 ace serves ranks third in Class 5A.

Unsung hero: West High sophomore Katherine Kouba. Back row players are by nature behind the scenes standouts and Kouba certainly fits that bill. The sophomore leads West High with 297 digs and ranks 12th in Class 4A at 4.01 digs per set.

Under the radar standout: Solon senior Katie Yi. The 5-foot-10 Yi has quietly put together a stellar senior season leading the Spartans in kills and blocks.

Yi has posted a team-high 237 kills on a team-best .245 hitting to go with 56 blocks and 23 ace serves and also ranks fourth on the team with 176 digs.

Freshman of the year: Liberty High’s Cassidy Hartmann and Shelby Kimm Kimm. The freshman duo provided a boost to an already loaded Lightning lineup combining for 362 kills and 92 blocks.

Hartman has a team-high 213 kills on a team-leading .349 hitting efficiency and ranks second on the team with 57 blocks. Kimm has 149 kills on .254 hitting to go with 35 blocks.

Newcomer of the year: City High junior Maya Morales. In her first season at City High Morales has made an impact in the back row. The West Liberty transfer leads the Little Hawks with 304 digs and her 4.22 digs per set and rank ninth in Class 5A.

Most valuable player: Liberty High senior LeeAnn Potter. Liberty High has a balance roster loaded with talented players but Potter has been the rock for the Lightning during their breakthrough season.

The 5-foot-9 Potter ranks second on the team with 208 kills on .267 hitting and is second on the team 193 digs. Equally as important as the stats Potter has been a leader for a Liberty High team that has already put together the best season in program history.

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