Ryan Murken

Your Prep Sports

The opening match of the state volleyball tournament is less than a week away.

Before beginning to breakdown the state tournament action at The Alliant Energy Powerhouse in Cedar Rapids the fields in all five classes must be set.

That starts on Tuesday with regional finals set for Classes 5A, 4A and 3A.

By Wednesday evening all 40 spots at the state tournament with be set.

Three Your Prep Sports area teams will be looking to secure spots at the state tournament on Tuesday.

Here is a quick look at the Class 5A regional final matches featuring area teams.

Class 5A, Region 4

No. 13 City High (20-14) at No. 3 Ankeny (38-5)

Where: Ankeny

When: Tuesday, 7 p.m.

Player to watch: Ankeny senior Ava Reynolds was a first-team Class 5A all-state selection last season and ranks fifth in Class 5A this season with 372 kills.

About the Little Hawks: City High is 7-5 over it last 12 matches with the losses coming to fourth-ranked Cedar Falls, 4A top-ranked Western Dubuque twice, Ankeny and West High.

The Little Hawks dispatched of Southeast Polk in four sets in the regional semifinal to set up an opportunity to reach the state tournament for the first time since 2014.

City High got big matches from sophomore Claire Ernst and freshman Emmy McComas in the regional semifinal win as the two combined for 37 kills but the Little Hawks had the balance they need to be successful.

Kristi Maass had eight kills and Ruby McDonough and Lauren Koch each had five in the regional semifinal win.

Ernst leads the Little Hawks this season with 320 kills and McComas has 213 while senior setter Makayla Ribble is third on the team with 98 kills.

About the Hawks: Defending 5A state champion Ankeny has won eight consecutive matches without dropping a set since a loss to rival Ankeny Centennial on September 28.

The Hawks are 97-13 over the past three seasons and are seeking a fourth consecutive trip to the state tournament.

All five losses for Ankeny this season have come to teams ranked in the top eight and the Hawks own three wins over top-five ranked opponents.

Reynolds is the headliner for the Hawks but Ankeny has five players with at least 103 kills including three with more than 170.

Sophomore Aowyn Schrader has 272 kills and senior Olivia Harpenau has 177 while juniors Myra Carlson and Hannah Baier had 138 and 103 respectively.

What to watch: Both teams have strong hitting combinations with Reynolds and Schrader leading the way for Ankeny and Ernst and McComas for City High.

The key on Tuesday could be which team has other players step up and put balls away.

Both teams showed they are capable of finding offensive production from outside their top two hitters in regional semifinal wins.

Schrader (12) and Reynolds (11) each had double digit kills in Ankeny’s win over Waukee but Carlson (8), Harpenau (5) and sophomore Tanith Roush (4) combined for 17 kills.

City High had similar balance as McComas and Ernst combined for 37 kills but the rest of the team had 20 in a four-set win over Southeast Polk.

Breakdown: This will be the second meeting this month between these two teams after Ankeny defeated City High 21-18, 21-14 at the Bettendorf tournament on October 9.

The Hawks had a 28-18 edge in kills in that meeting and an 8-1 advantage in blocks.

Senior setter Makayla Ribble has been the leader for City High the past several seasons and will be key if the Little Hawks are to pull the upset on Tuesday.

Class 5A, Region 6

Muscatine (15-17) at No. 1 Liberty High (33-4)

Where: Liberty High

When: Tuesday, 7 p.m.

Player to watch: Muscatine senior Meadow Freers ranks second on the team with 127 kills and leads the Muskies with 52 blocks.

About the Lightning: Liberty High hasn’t wasted any time establishing itself as one of the premier programs in the state.

The Lightning made their state tournament debut in 2019, reached the 5A title game for the first time a year ago and enters the regional final on Tuesday top-ranked in Class 5A and seeking a third consecutive trip to the state tournament and the program’s first state title.

Liberty High has won 10 straight without dropping a set after a five-set loss to fifth-ranked West Des Moines Dowling on September 30 and swept Cedar Rapids Washington in the regional semifinal.

The Lightning are led by all-state juniors Cassidy Hartman and Shelby Kimm who have combined for 635 kills this season.

About the Muskies: Muscatine had lost 11 of 14 before sweeping Davenport North in the regular season finale and downing Cedar Rapids Jefferson in four sets in the Region 6 semifinal.

The Muskies have been among the most improved teams in Class 5A the past two seasons.

Muscatine finished 14-13 last season, it’s first winning season and highest win total since 2013 and continued that climb this fall going 15-17.

Two of the top three hitters from the Muskies are underclassmen in sophomores Hannah Jansen and Brylee Seaman.

Jansen leads the team with 191 kills while Seaman is third with 124 kills on a team-high hitting efficiency of .271.

Muscatine is chasing its second ever trip to the state tournament and first since 1978.

What to watch: Over the last three seasons Liberty High has posted a 91-10 overall record while reaching back-to-back state tournaments.

While the Lightning have been impressive overall the past three seasons they have been almost unbeatable at home.

Liberty High owns a 31-1 record at home since the start of the 2019 season with the lone loss during that stretch a five-setter to fifth-ranked West Des Moines Dowling back on September 30.

This season Liberty High is 9-1 at home with six of those wins over ranked teams and has lost just five sets in those 10 matches.

Breakdown: Liberty High has been dominant this season and enters playing as well as any team in the state.

The Lightning have plenty of punch at the net with Northern Iowa commit Hartman (382 kills) and Kimm (253) but have spread the wealth offensively this season and have five players with more than 120 kills.

Senior Sam Harvey has 153 kills while junior Lilah VanScoyoc has 126 and freshman Asta Hildebrand has 123.

Harvey leads the Lightning with 50 blocks while Hartman has 46 and sophomore setter Mariah Rollins has a team-high 564 assists.

Class 5A, Region 7

No. 14 West High (16-16) at No. 2 Pleasant Valley (29-4)

Where: Pleasant Valley High School

When: Tuesday, 7 p.m.

Player to watch: Pleasant Valley senior setter Kora Ruff is an Evansville commit with more than 3,000 career assists to her credit and leads 5A with 9.7 assists per set this season.

About the Spartans: Pleasant Valley is chasing a third consecutive state tournament appearance after falling to eventual state champion Ankeny in the 5A semifinals last season.

The Spartans are 80-12 during their three-year run that has produced consecutive state semifinal appearances.

Pleasant Valley has posted four consecutive sweeps after falling to Western Dubuque in the finals of the Bobcat Invite on October 2 including a sweep of Davenport Central in the Region 7 semifinals.

Of the four losses for Pleasant Valley this season three have come to top-ranked teams in Liberty High, Western Dubuque and Dike-New Hartford.

Ruff directs a Spartan offense that features four players with at least 165 kills led by junior Halle Vice who has a team-high 245 kills.

About the Trojans: At 16-16 this season West High doesn’t enter the regional final with a sparkling record but the Trojans are battle tested after facing a challenging regular season schedule.

West High lost nine of 12 matches during a tough stretch from late September to early October, including a two-set loss to Pleasant Valley, but has rebounded and has won four of five entering the regional final.

West High has wins over then-ranked Dubuque Hempstead and No. 13 City High in its surge to end the regular season and swept No. 15 Bettendorf in the regional semifinal.

Sophomore Melae’ Lacy leads Wests High with 247 kills while senior Sydney Woods has 172 kills for the Trojans.

Keep an eye on 5-foot-11 senior Carmen Crabtree who has a team-high 57 blocks and ranks third on the team with 80 kills.

What to watch: It’s pretty simple, for West High to pull the upset on Tuesday the Trojans must pass well.

West High got 18 kills from Lacy and 14 from Woods in a semifinal sweep of Bettendorf and both hit over .286. That means the pass and serve receive for the Trojans was strong allowing for clean swings for its top two players.

West High has one of the best back row players in the state in senior libero Katherine Kouba who ranks fifth in 5A with 4.8 digs per set. It starts with Kouba but West High will need to be sharp all over in order to creating offensive chances against an always sound Pleasant Valley team.

Breakdown: After splitting a pair of regular season meetings the season series comes down to a winner-take-all third game in the regional final.

West High defeated Pleasant Valley in a best of three 13-21, 21-14, 17-15 back on August 26 and the Spartans returned the favor with a two-set sweep 21-16, 21-14 on September 25.

Both teams enter the final meeting playing their best volleyball of the season.

The key for Pleasant Valley could be Vice, the 6-foot-1 junior who leads the Spartans in kills.

In the three-set West High win in August Vice was limited to seven kills but had 10 in two sets in the win over the Trojans last month.

Keeping Vice under control will be a key for West High on Tuesday.

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