Ryan Murken

Your Prep Sports 

IOWA CITY – Regina faces a tall task in its return to the state volleyball tournament.

No state tournament match is easy but in the case of the Regals’ Class 2A quarterfinal against two-time defending state champion Western Christian on Wednesday the term tall task takes on a truer meaning.

With its top three hitters all standing 6-foot or taller No. 2 Western Christian (37-6) features one of the tallest front rows in Class 2A.

Factor in that those three players combine for more than 950 kills and No. 11 Regina (28-8) is looking at the definition of a tall task when it faces Western Christian at 2 p.m. at the U.S. Cellular Center in Cedar Rapids in its first state tournament appearance since 2013.

“They have a big block so we are going to have to hit around the block and they’ve got big girls and they can hit,” Regina senior Alex Wiese said. “We are just going to have to play lockdown defense and get a lot of balls up.”  

Few teams statewide can match the height the Wolfpack present.

Led by 6-foot-2 senior all-state Ashtyn Veerbeek, a Nebraska basketball recruit, Western Christian has a height advantage against just about every team it faces, including Regina.

“They are huge and there isn’t anything you can do to change that,” Regina coach Jordyn Akers said. “I think four us what we will have to do is just keep moving our hitters around and making sure we are getting really good swings out of all three positions which we did really well on Tuesday. If we can keep those middles moving and tire them out quicker it will be good for us.”

Veerbeek is one of just three players in the state with more than 500 kills, hammering a Class 2A leading 506 this season.

Jessi De Jager, a 6-foot-1 senior has 274 kills and Cor De Jong, a 6-foot senior has 177.

That trio will test a Regina back row that was exceptional in a regional final sweep of No. 12 Wilton and averages a 2A tournament-best 20 digs per set.

“We always say the bigger they are the lower we get,” Regina senior libero Clare Dunne said. “We need to pass well so our hitters can have a chance against their big block.”

Led by juniors Jaedynn Evans and Wiese Regina certainly has hitters that can stack up with anyone in 2A.

The 6-foot-1 Wiese leads the team with 359 kills while Evans has 268.

Add 5-foot-11 Alexa Lehman and 5-foot-9 Ellie VanLandSchoot and Regina has its own height at the net.

Yet the key to slowing the dynamic Western Christian attack will be in the back row.  

“If we serve aggressive and we pass well and keep our offense moving we will be o.k.,” Akers said. “We have to serve and pass the way we did on Tuesday (against Wilton) and if we do it will be really big for us.”

Western Christian has another advantage on its side on Wednesday, experience.

The Wolfpack is making their 17th consecutive state tournament appearance and has three starters back from last year’s 2A title team.

Western Christian has won 16 consecutive state tournament openers while Regina is seeking its first.

“We are always up for a challenge and it’s fun to push ourselves to the limit,” Dunne said. “It will be a really good challenge for us.