By Ryan Murken

Your Prep Sports

The volleyball postseason officially gets underway on Tuesday with the opening of regional play in Class 1A and 2A with 3A, 4A and 5A opening round games set for Wednesday.

Every team is after the same thing, a trip to the state tournament that runs from November 7-10 at the US Cellular Center in Cedar Rapids.

Here are five things to watch as teams battle for a spot at the state tournament.

Familiar Foes

Postseason rematches aren’t uncommon in regional volleyball and several area teams faces familiar obstacles on the road to the state tournament.

In Class 5A West High and City High each face potential regional rematches.

With a win in the Region 7 semifinals West High would face the winner of Mississippi Valley Conference foes Dubuque Hempstead and Dubuque Senior.

Eighth-ranked West High defeated No. 6 Dubuque Hempstead (26-7) in three sets in Dubuque on Sept. 23 and is 1-1 against Dubuque Senior this season after a three-set loss to the Rams at the MVC tournament on Saturday.

City High (12-14) can earn a third match with ninth-ranked Bettendorf with a Region 7 quarterfinal win over Davenport West (6-19) on Wednesday.

The Little Hawks have lost twice in best of three matches to Bettendorf this season most recently on Oct. 7 at the Bulldogs home tournament.

Clear Creek Amana (22-19) has defeated its 4A Region 6 quarterfinal opponent Grinnell twice this season.

With a third win over Grinnell (9-22) on Wednesday the Clippers would get another shot at No. 7 Center Point-Urbana after being swept by the Stormin’ Pointers in a WAMAC match on Sept.  19.

Regina (25-8) could face a pair of River Valley Conference rivals in Class 2A Region 8.

No. 11 Regina could get a third meeting with West Branch (9-22) in the semifinals if the Bears get past Highland (10-14) in Tuesday’s opener.

Waiting in the regional final could a rematch with No. 12 Wilton.

Regina won a five-set thriller over the Beavers in Wilton on Sept. 19.

Battle Tested

The purpose of a challenging regular season schedule is to prepare a team for the rigors of the postseason.

After the slate that West High faced the past eight weeks it is tough to imagine a more prepared team entering regional play.

Of the 36 regular season matches for Class 5A No. 8 West High (21-15), 24 came against ranked teams.

West High went 10-14 against ranked opponents this season with 10 of those losses coming to teams ranked in the top five of their respective class.

A challenging regular season schedule has paid dividends in the postseason for West High in past seasons.

West High has reached the state tournament with double-digit losses each of the past three seasons including last year when the Women of Troy qualified at 23-14.

Finishing Touches

The regular season was a success for Regina.

No. 11 Regina won 25 matches, the most for the program in more than a decade, finished runner-up in the RVC South and advanced to the semifinals of the conference tournament.

The Regals can put the finishing touches on an impressive season with their first state tournament trip since 2013.

Regina (25-8) is the top seed in the Class 2A, Region 8 bracket that is one of only two brackets in all classes without a top-eight team.

River Valley Conference rival and No. 12 Wilton (32-5) is the second seed in the bracket.

First Time’s The Charm?

It has been a season full of firsts for Liberty High.

The Lightning completed the first regular season in program history 13-18 and will make their postseason debut on Wednesday against No. 12 Marion in the 4A, Region 6 quarterfinals.

It has been a solid opening season for head coach Randy Dolson and Liberty. A regional upset would be a big building block heading into next season.

Back for More

All five defending champions enter the postseason heavy favorites to return to the state tournament.

A pair of defending champions open the postseason atop the rankings in their respective classes.

Two-time defending 1A champion Janesville and last year’s Class 3A champion Dike-New Hartford both enter ranked number one.

Dike-New Hartford drops to Class 2A where two-time defending champion Western Christian is ranked second.

Three-time defending 5A champion Ankeny Centennial is ranked third to open regional play while defending 4A champ Dubuque Wahlert opens postseason play ranked second.