Ryan Murken

Your Prep Sports

The Field

No. 10 Norwalk (26-14) vs. No. 1 Clear Creek Amana (45-0)

Clear Creek Amana returns to the state tournament for the second consecutive season and the fifth time in program history following a runner-up finish a year ago.

The Clippers haven’t lost since falling to Cedar Rapids Xavier in the 4A title game at Xtream Arena last season rattling off 45 consecutive wins to return to the state tournament.

Clear Creek Amana has been among the most impressive teams in the state all season and will look to continue that dominance this week in Coralville.

Senior Bliss Beck leads the Clippers with 389 kills on .471 hitting and has a 4A-best 111 blocks.

Sophomore Averie Lower ranks second on the team with 269 kills and senior Sam Schrage has 165 kills on .253 hitting and 74 blocks.

Senior libero Meg Berkland leads Class 4A with 486 digs while sophomore Sariah Sherman has 50 blocks.

Senior Kenadi Wood (449 assists) and sophomore Emily Henderson (502 assists) share the setting duties for the Clippers and senior Addison Gisleson has 41 ace serves and 392 digs.

Norwalk will make its state tournament debut on Monday after earning its first ever trip to state with a five-set win over eighth-ranked North Polk in the regional final.

The Warriors bring a seven-game winning streak into Monday’s quarterfinal after downing No. 15 Carlisle and North Polk in back-to-back regional matches.

Of the 14 losses for the Warriors this season 13 have come to ranked opponents including three losses to 4A qualifier Indianola.

Norwalk has one of the top hitters in the state in senior Noelle Sutcliffe who ranks second in 4A with 428 kills.

Senior Ava Johnson has 198 kills and senior Ava McKay has 153 kills for the Warriors while junior Emmory Toppenberg has 127 kills and a team-high 63 blocks.

No. 4 North Scott (26-4) vs. No. 5 ADM (27-3)

A state semifinalist each of the past two seasons North Scott is making its fifth consecutive state tournament appearance.

The Lancers lost in the quarterfinals in 2019 and 2020 before falling into the semifinals each of the past two seasons.

North Scott has the firepower to make another run this season.

Junior returning first-team all-stater Abbey Hayes leads the Lancers with 253 kills on .278 hitting while senior Sydney Skarich has 164 kills.

Senior Georgia Brunkan has a team-high 375 digs and junior Emee Allard has a team-high 44 blocks.

ADM is making its second all-time trip to the state tournament and first since 2005.

The Tigers have been impressive this season with their lone losses coming to 3A state qualifier Union and 5A qualifier West Des Moines Valley.

ADM defeated No. 13 Dallas Center-Grimes in the regional title game and was 8-0 against ranked 4A competition this season.

Senior Marissa Gerleman leads ADM with 336 kills while junior London Warmuth has 189 kills and senior Kaylee Smith has 177.

Senior setter Madison Siefken runs the Tiger attack and has 838 assists while junior Madi James has a team-high 358 digs.

No. 2 Indianola (36-4) vs. No. 7 Marion (26-12)

Indianola returns to state for the second consecutive season after falling to Western Dubuque in the quarterfinal last year in its first trip to state since 2014.

The Indians are back at state this season seeking a deeper run and with the talent and experience to make that happen.

Indianola enters riding a 12-match winning streak and undefeated against non-5A competition this season.

All four losses for Indianola came to 5A state qualifiers in Johnston, Waukee Northwest, Ankeny and Ankeny Centennial and the Indians have wins over Waukee Northwest and Ankeny Centennial.

Five players have at least 120 kills for the Indians including three with 200 or more in juniors Camryn Overton (351), Makenzie Sloan (224) and Aspen Nelson (218).

Senior setter Tori Runyan leads 4A with 976 assists to go with 96 kills and junior Dana Blake leads the team with 49 blocks.

Marion is making its third consecutive appearance at state after falling to Clear Creek Amana in the quarterfinal last season.

The Wolves swept Western Dubuque and No. 14 Ballard in the regional tournament to return to state and have won four of their last five matches with the lone loss coming to Clear Creek Amana in the finals of the WAMAC tournament.

Senior Michaela Goad leads Marion with 381 kills on .268 hitting while junior Carlee Webber has 282 kills and ranks fourth in 4A with 84 blocks.

Senior setter Alexis Pierce has 736 assists while senior Natalee Hartman has a team-high 453 digs.

No. 3 Cedar Rapids Xavier (24-6) vs. No. 6 Council Bluffs Lewis Central (31-2)

Defending 4A champion Cedar Rapids Xavier is making its eight consecutive state tournament appearance and seeking a third title in the past four seasons.

The Saints did not drop a set in a pair of regional wins, sweeping Waverly-Shell Rock in the regional title match.

All six of the losses for Cedar Rapids Xavier have come to ranked opponents including three losses to 5A state tournament qualifiers Johnston and Cedar Falls.

The Saints are 3-0 against 4A state qualifiers with two wins over North Scott and a win over Marion.

Four Saints have at least 100 kills led by junior Libby Fandel with 386 kills and junior Carley Jonker with 150 kills.

Council Bluffs Lewis Central returns to the state tournament for the first time since making four consecutive trips from 2014 to 2017.

The Titans have won 15 straight matches, a stretch that dates back to September 28 and includes a four-set win over Sioux City Heelan in the regional title match.

The lone losses for Lewis Central this season have come to a pair of second-ranked teams in 5A second-ranked Ankeny Centennial and 2A second-ranked Hinton.

Four players have at least 147 kills for Lewis Central led by junior Brooke Larsen who has a team-high 261 kills.

Returning all-stater Anna Strohmeier has 212 kills on .308 hitting while Ashlynn Havermann has 167 kills and Maddie Roenfeld has 147 kills and 57 blocks.

The Faces

Clear Creek Amana: Bliss Beck, 6-2, Sr. – The Drake commit leads Class 4A in blocks (111) and hitting efficiency (.471) and ranks fourth in 4A with 389 kills.

Norwalk: Noelle Sutcliffe, 5-11, Sr. – A Missouri Western recruit Sutcliffe ranks second in 4A with 428 kills on .265 hitting and leads the Warriors with 38 ace serves and is second on the team with 256 digs.

North Scott: Abbey Hayes, 6-3, Jr. – A first-team all-state pick last season Hayes leads the Lancers with 253 kills on .278 hitting and has 181 digs and 33 ace serves.

ADM: Marissa Gerleman, 5-10, Sr. – Gerleman leads ADM with 336 kills on .267 hitting and also has a team-high 35 blocks and ranks second on the team with 210 digs.

Indianola: Tori Runyan, 5-9, Sr. – A four-year starter Runyan has 2,352 career assists including a Class 4A-leading 976 this season to go with 96 kills and 168 digs.

Marion: Michaela Goad, 6-1, Sr. – The top hitter for the Wolves the past two seasons Goad has 1,011 career kills including 381 this season to go with 70 blocks.

Cedar Rapids Xavier: Libby Fandel, 6-0, Jr. – A first-team all-state selection last season a sophomore Fandel ranks fifth in Class 4A with 386 kills while posting 203 digs and 39 blocks.

Council Bluffs Lewis Central: Brooke Larsen, 5-11, Jr. – An all-around threat Larsen leads the Titans with 261 kills on .226 hitting, leads the team with 54 ace serves, is second on the team with 290 assists and third with 193 digs and 35 blocks.

The Favorite

Clear Creek Amana has a resume as an impressive as any team in the state this season.

The Clippers are 45-0, joining 2A top-ranked Dike-New Hartford (47-0) as the only undefeated teams in the state.

Clear Creek Amana has lost just four sets all season, going 98-4 in sets this season and have yet to drop a set in a best of five match.

The Clippers are 20-0 against ranked teams this season including wins over 5A state qualifiers West Des Moines Dowling and Ankeny.

The Forecast

With a win over state tournament newcomer Norwalk in the quarterfinals Clear Creek Amana could face rematches in each of the final two rounds.

The Clippers defeated North Scott in five sets in the semifinals last season and would get a rematch with the Lancers if both teams advance as higher seeds on Monday.

A semifinal between defending state champion Cedar Rapids Xavier and Indianola would be highly anticipated with the Saints seeking to reach the title game for the fourth time in the last six seasons.

Clear Creek Amana fell to Xavier in four sets in the 4A title game last season.

The Focus

Can Clear Creek Amana finish the job.

The Clippers are attempting to complete the rarest of seasons in prep volleyball going wire-to-wire number one with an unblemished record.

Clear Creek Amana has cleared every hurdle over the last three months and sits three wins in four days away from one of the best seasons in recent history.

Five Fast Facts

* – The .471 hitting efficiency for Clear Creek Amana senior Bliss Beck ranks fourth in the state and is .127 higher than any other player in the Class 4A state tournament field.

* – Teams in the Class 4A field have combined for 45 losses this season, the fewest among any of the eight-team state tournament fields. The field with the next fewest combined losses is 2A with 52.

* – Indianola is the only team in the 4A field with three players with at least 200 kills and the only team with five players with at least 100 kills.

* – Clear Creek Amana senior libero Meg Berkland leads 4A with 486 digs, was second in 4A with 540 digs last season and has 1,733 digs in her career.

* – Five of the eight qualifiers in 4A are were at the state tournament last year and three of last season’s four 4A semifinalist (Clear Creek Amana, North Scott, Cedar Rapids Xavier) are returning to the state tournament.

The Schedule

Quarterfinals, October 30

Clear Creek Amana (45-0) vs. Norwalk (26-14), 4 p.m.

North Scott (26-4) vs. ADM (27-3), 6 p.m.

Indianola (36-4) vs. Marion (26-12), 4:25 p.m.

Cedar Rapids Xavier (24-6) vs. Council Bluffs Lewis Central (31-2), 6:25 p.m.

Semifinals, November 1

Clear Creek Amana/Norwalk winner vs. North Scott/ADM winner, Noon

Indianola/Marion winner vs. Cedar Rapids Xavier Council Bluffs Lewis Central winner, 12:25 p.m.

Championship, November 2

Semifinal winners, 12:15 p.m.

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