The Field

Eddyville-Blakesburg-Fremont (34-2) vs. Regina (24-14)

Regina and Eddyville-Blakesburg-Fremont meet in a rematch of a regular season match won by the Rockets all the way back in August.

Regina returns to the state tournament for the first time since 2017 following an impressive four-set win over ninth-ranked Pella Christian in the regional title game.

The Regals have been tested by a strong schedule that featured 18 matches against ranked opponents.

Of the 14 losses for Regina 13 came against ranked teams including 11 against teams ranked in higher classes.

Junior Iowa State commit Reese Naeve leads the state with 733 kills and is coming off a 39-kill performance in the regional title match.

Senior Caitlin Martin has 248 kills and sophomore Addison Bollier ranks second in the state with 672 digs.

Sophomore setter Nora Willhelm leads the Regals with 927 assists.

Eddyville-Blakesburg-Fremont is making its third consecutive state tournament appearance after losing in the 2022 semifinals and falling to Dike-New Hartford in the quarterfinals last season.

The Rockets enter riding a 21-match winning streak in which they have dropped just three sets.

Sisters Molly and Kate Shafer are both Northern Iowa recruits and lead the way for the Rockets.

Molly Shafer ranks second in the state with 602 kills and Kate Shafer has a team-high 837 assists and 106 kills.

Junior Lacey Taylor has 213 kills for Eddyville-Blakesburg-Fremont while senior Chloe Lyon has a team-high 59 blocks.

Denver (44-3) vs. Boyden Hull (19-12)

Denver is making its fifth straight trip to the state tournament and is seeking its first state title.

The Cyclones have lost to Dike-New Hartford in three of their previous four trips to state.

Denver fell to Dike-New Hartford in the 2A title game in its state tournament debut and lost to the Wolverines in the semifinals in 2021 and last season.

The three losses for Denver this season have come to Class 5A state qualifiers Indianola and Ankeny and Dike-New Hartford.

Denver has an impressive 12 wins against state qualifiers this season and brings an eight-match winning streak into the state tournament.

Six different players have at least 125 kills for Denver led by junior Bailey Mullihan with 448 kills.

Grace Mullihan has 255 kills and 67 blocks and Mylee Thurm has 180 kills and leads the Cyclones with 69 blocks.

Boyden-Hull returns to the state tournament for the second straight season and fourth time in the past five seasons.

The Comets were a 1A semifinalist last season and secured a spot in the 2A field with an upset of seventh-ranked and defending 2A runner-up Hinton in the regional title game.

Sophomore Elsie Hoegh leads Boyden-Hull with 283 kills while senior Clara Hoegh has 148 kills and a team-high 582 assists.

Senior Makinze Rensink has 122 kills and leads the Comets with 53 blocks.

Dike-New Hartford (29-15) vs. Aplington-Parkersburg (36-6)

A couple of familiar foes square off in a Class 2A quarterfinal between returning state qualifiers.

Dike-New Hartford defeated Aplington-Parkersburg in four sets in a regular season meeting between the two teams in Dike back on September 10.

Defending 2A champion Dike-New Hartford is making its fifth consecutive state tournament appearance and is seeking its fourth title in five seasons.

Dike-New Hartford won titles in 2020, 2021 and last season giving the Wolverines 16 state titles, third most in state history.

The Wolverines have won nine in a row entering Tuesday’s quarterfinal and have lost just one set during their current eight-match winning streak.

Don’t be fooled by the record for the Wolverines, of the 15 losses 14 have come to ranked teams including 10 to opponents ranked in the top three.

Senior Izzy Norton leads Dike-New Hartford with 294 kills while senior Shannon Moorman has 258 kills and 82 blocks.

Junior Keely Kauten has 184 kills and a team-high 73 blocks and Madde Buskohl has 131 kills.

Aplington-Parkersburg is making its second straight trip to state after falling to Hinton in the quarterfinals last season.

All six losses for the Falcons have come to top-four ranked opponents including two losses each to 2A top-ranked Denver and 1A top-ranked Ankeny Christian.

Aplington-Parkersburg brings an 11-match winning streak into the state tournament after a sweep of No. 12 Sumner-Fredericksburg in the regional title game.

Five Falcons have at least 100 kills this season led by senior Peyton Klooster with 362 kills and junior Zoey Uhlenhopp who has 249 kills and a team-high 51 blocks.

Junior Kolbie Wangsness has 203 kills, freshman Jenzen Klooster has 172 kills and senior Isabela Buseman has 959 assists.

Dyersville Beckman (35-6) vs. South Hardin (26-8)

Dyersville Beckman is making its first state tournament appearance since finishing runner-up in 2021.

The Blazers have won nine consecutive matches and are coming off a regional final sweep of No. 14 West Burlington.

Dyersville Beckman has six players with at least 136 kills led by junior Ava Burkle with 265 kills.

Senior Alli Scherbring has 220 kills and 82 blocks and junior Miley Manternach has 198 kills and a team-high 85 blocks.

Katelyn Schmitt has 191 kills, freshman Joy Burkle has 160 kills and Isabel Kluesner has 136 kills.

South Hardin is appearing at the state tournament for the third time in the past five seasons and first since 2021.

The Tigers downed No. 10 Grundy Center in the regional title game for their fourth consecutive victory.

South Hardin has three players with more than 200 kills led by senior Ava Salvo with 264 kills and Alli Sheldahl with 235 kills and 43 blocks.

Emma Minteer has 204 kills and Ava Paige has a team-high 621 assists.

The Faces

Denver: Channing Johnson, 5-11, Jr. – A second team all-state pick a year ago, Johnson leads 2A with 1,107 assists and has 132 kills, 331 digs, 56 blocks and 44 ace serves.

Boyden-Hull: Elsie Hoegh, 5-9, Soph. – Hoegh leads the Comets with 283 kills on .191 hitting and ranks second on the team with 243 digs and 35 ace serves.

Dike-New Hartford: Izzy Norton, 5-8, Sr. – Norton has done it all for the Wolverines this season leading the team with 294 kills while ranking second with 350 digs and third with 48 blocks and 23 ace serves.

Aplington-Parkersburg: Peyton Klooster, 6-0, Sr. – Klooster has a team-high 362 kills on .238 hitting and leads 2A with 84 ace serves. She has also collected 219 digs and 37 blocks.

Eddyville-Blakesburg-Fremont: Molly Shafer, 6-0, Sr. – An elite all-state pick last season the Northern Iowa recruit ranks second in the state with 602 kills on .549 hitting while posting 261 digs, 55 ace serves and 35 blocks.

Regina: Reese Naeve, 5-8, Jr. – An Iowa State commit, Naeve leads the state with 733 kills and also has 331 digs and 34 ace serves. In three seasons Naeve has 1,775 kills.

Dyersville Beckman: Alexie Hogan – Among the best back row players in 2A, Hogan was a third-team all-state pick last season and ranks third in 2A with 535 digs this season to go with 29 ace serves.

South Hardin: Ava Salvo, 5-9, Sr. – A third-team all-state pick last season Salvo leads the Tigers with 264 kills on .245 hitting and 46 ace serves and ranks second on the team with 202 digs.

The Favorite

Denver is top-ranked, top-seeded and owns a regular season win over Dike-New Hartford.

Yet until a 2A team takes down the Wolverines on the state’s biggest stage Dike-New Hartford retains the role of favorite.

The Wolverines have the most losses in the 2A field but don’t be fooled by the record, this is a Dike-New Hartford team fully capable of adding to its title count.

Dike-New Hartford split a pair of regular season matches with Denver winning the most recent meeting in four sets on October 1 in Dike.

The Forecast

The bracket is set up for a Denver and Dike-New Hartford rematch in the semifinals on the top half of the bracket.

The bottom of the bracket is up for grabs with Eddyville-Blakesburg-Fremont the two seed and Dyersville Beckman the three seed.

Keep a strong eye on Regina which is capable of pulling an upset behind Naeve if it plays the way it did in its regional final.

The Focus

Can anyone take down Dike-New Hartford?

The Wolverines reclaimed the top spot in Class 2A a year ago, winning their third title in four seasons and finishing 50-0.

Dike-New Hartford has 15 losses this season but is still the favorite to claim the 2A title.

The only team other than Dike-New Hartford to win a 2A title in the past 14 seasons is Western Christian which will chase a 3A title this week.

Can anyone else in 2A take the crown away from Dike-New Hartford?

Five Fast Facts

*- The top two hitters in the state this season are in the 2A field in Regina junior Reese Naeve who leads the state with 733 kills and Eddyville-Blakesburg-Fremont senior Molly Shafer ranks second with 602 kills.

*- Six of the 15 losses for Dike-New Hartford this season have come to teams that enter the state tournament ranked number one.

*- Of the 44 matches for Dike-New Hartford this season 28 came against ranked opponents with the Wolverines going 14-14 in those matches.

*- Eddyville-Blakesburg-Fremont brings a 21-match winning streak into the state tournament, the longest stretch among 2A qualifiers.

*- Regina sophomore libero Addison Bollier ranks second in the state with 672 digs, the most among any player at the state tournament this week.

The Schedule

Quarterfinals, November 5

Denver vs. Boyden-Hull, 2 p.m.

Eddyville-Blakesburg-Fremont vs. Regina, 2:25 p.m.

Dike-New Hartford vs. Aplington-Parkersburg, 4 p.m.

Dyersville Beckman vs. South Hardin, 4:25 p.m.

Semifinals, November 6

Denver/Boyden-Hull winner vs. Eddyville-Blakesburg-Fremont/Regina winner, 4 p.m.

Dike-New Hartford/Aplington-Parkersburg winner vs. Dyersville Beckman/South Hardin winner, 4:45 p.m.

Championship, November 7

Semifinal winners, 4:45 p.m.

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