Ryan Murken

Your Prep Sports

The Matchups

No. 1 Cedar Falls (41-1) vs. No. 8 Waukee (35-11)

Defending runner-up Cedar Falls opens its title run with a rematch of last year’s state quarterfinal won by the Tigers in three sets.

Cedar Falls is seeking a fourth consecutive title match appearance after falling to Ankeny Centennial in the 5A championship in two of the past three seasons.

The Tigers won a title in 2017 and were runner-up in 2016 and last season while compiling a 170-8 record over that span.

Senior Akacia Brown (434 kills) leads a balanced and experienced Cedar Falls attack that features six players with at least 95 kills.

The top four Tiger hitters are all seniors led by Brown and 6-foot-6 Alayna Yates who has 274 kills sand a team-high 93 blocks.

Waukee is making its second straight state tournament appearance after its first trip since 2011 last season ended with a straight-set loss to the Tigers.

Eight of the 11 losses for Waukee have come to teams in the 5A tournament field including four to third-ranked West Des Moines Valley.  

The Warriors have four players with more than 185 kills led by junior Layanna Green with 317 kills and senior Kate Nelson with 306.

No. 4 Ankeny (36-5) vs. No. 5 Council Bluffs Abraham Lincoln (38-3)

One of the hottest teams in Class 5A will have a double-digit win streak snapped in one of the more intriguing quarterfinals of the week.

Council Bluffs Abraham Lincoln earned it first trip to state since 2014 by sweeping defending champion Ankeny Centennial in the regional final and brings a 21-match winning streak to Cedar Rapids.

The Lynx haven’t lost a match since falling to Class 4A top-ranked Sergeant Bluff-Luton on September 24 and have dropped just one set during their current 21-match winning streak.

Council Bluffs Abraham Lincoln has won 38 consecutive sets entering state tournament play and boasts one of the more balanced attacks in the 5A field with five players with at least 174 kills.

Senior Elaina Bohnet leads the Lynx with 360 kills while Kayla Schleifman (231) and Julia Wagoner (212) both have more than 200 kills.

State tournament regular Ankeny is back for the second consecutive season after falling to West

Des Moines Valley in the quarterfinals last season.

The Hawks enter with their own 16-match winning streak after regional sweeps of No. 13 Urbandale and No. 12 Cedar Rapids Kennedy.

Ankeny is 5-4 against teams in the 5A field with losses to top-three seeds Cedar Falls, Liberty High, West Des Moines Valley and West Des Moines Dowling.

No. 2 Liberty High (34-2) vs. No. 7 Pleasant Valley (29-5)

Liberty High makes its state tournament debut in its third season of varsity volleyball and its first season at the 5A level.

The Lightning have been among the biggest surprises in the state this season, going from 19-15 a year ago to one of the top teams in the state.

The lone losses for Liberty High have come to top-ranked Cedar Falls at the Mississippi Valley Conference tournament and at Class 4A seventh-ranked Dubuque Wahlert.

Liberty High has a pair of wins over 5A qualifiers defeating Ankeny and West Des Moines Dowling in September and clinched its first state tournament berth with a regional final sweep of No. 11 Dubuque Hempstead.

Freshman Cassidy Hartmann headlines a balanced Lightning attack with a team-high 236 kills while senior LeeAnn Potter has 220 kills.

Sophomore Sydney Woods has 169 and freshman Shelby Kimm has 157 kills as six Liberty High players have at least 79 kills.

Pleasant Valley is making its first state tournament appearance since 2013 after sweeping No. 10 Bettendorf in the regional final.

The five losses for the Spartans are to 5A qualifiers West Des Moines Dowling and West Des Moines Valley (twice) and the top-ranked teams in Class 3A (Davenport Assumption) and 4A (Sergeant Bluff-Luton).

The Spartans have four players with more than 155 kills led by senior Ilah Perez-Johnson with 237. 

No. 3 West Des Moines Valley (40-4) vs. No. 6 West Des Moines Dowling (32-11)

The fourth meeting of the season between these two cross-town CIML rivals comes with a spot in the 5A semifinals on the line.

West Des Moines Valley won all three regular season meetings over Dowling with five of the eight sets played between the two teams this season decided by four points or fewer.

Valley is seeking a fourth consecutive semifinal appearance after falling to Ankeny Centennial in a five-set semifinal thriller a year ago.

The Tigers are tested with 13 matches against 5A qualifiers with three of their four losses coming to Ankeny and Cedar Falls.

Sophomore Hayden Kubik leads the 5A field with 442 kills while Olivia Curry has 202 for the Tigers.

West Des Moines Dowling is back at the state tournament for the eighth consecutive season seeking its first quarterfinal win since 2013.

The Maroons have lost five straight state tournament openers after falling to Ankeny Centennial in four sets last season.

Nine of the 11 losses for West Des Moines Dowling this season have come to 5A qualifiers including seven to top four seeds Cedar Falls (2), Liberty High (1), West Des Moines Valley (3) and Ankeny (1). The other two losses for Dowling are to 4A qualifiers Marion and West Delaware.

The Faces

Cedar Falls: Akacia Brown, 6-0, Sr. Mississippi State recruit ranks third in 5A with 434 kills with a hitting efficiency of .399.

Waukee: Layanna Green, 5-10, Jr. Leads the Warriors in kills (317), hitting efficiency (.357) and blocks (61) and also has 41 ace serves.

Ankeny: Phyona Schrader, 6-0, Jr. One of the top all-around talents in the state the Notre Dame commit leads the Hawks in assists (456) and ace serves (53), ranks second on the team in blocks (65) and is third with 177 kills while hitting a team-best .455.

Council Bluffs Abraham Lincoln: Elaina Bohnet, 5-8, Sr. A second-team all-state selection a year ago Bohnet has had a stellar senior season leading the Lynx with 360 kills to go with 325 digs and 43 blocks.

Liberty High: Rylee Fay, 5-9, Sr. A Missouri State recruit, Fay has done it all for the Lightning this season leading the team with 496 kills and 68 ace serves and ranking fifth with 83 kills.  

Pleasant Valley: Kora Ruff, 5-7, Soph. Ruff took over as the Spartans starting setter last season as a freshman and has enjoyed a stellar sophomore campaign ranking third in 5A with 8.96 assists per set while adding 37 ace serves.

West Des Moines Valley: Hayden Kubik, 6-0, Soph. In two varsity seasons Kubik has amassed 747 kills after ranking second in 5A with 442 kills this season.

West Des Moines Dowling: Grace Evans, 6-1, Jr. Evans ranks second on the team with 232 kills on a team-leading .413 hitting efficiency and leads the Maroons with 50 blocks.

The Favorite

There will be a new champion in 5A with Ankeny Centennial failing to reach the tournament and Cedar Falls is a heavy favorite to return to the top of the 5A mountain.

The Tigers are the only team in field to win a 5A title since the state expanded to five classes before the 2012 season.

Cedar Falls (41-1) is unbeaten against in-state teams with its only loss to St. James Academy from Kansas and brings a 29-match winning streak into the state meet.

The Forecast

Cedar Falls should reach the title game for the fourth consecutive season though the Tigers could get a tussle in the semifinals from an always stout Ankeny that will have its hands full in the quarterfinals with Council Bluffs Abraham Lincoln.

Liberty High will need to get past any state tournament debut nerves and Pleasant Valley to set up a matchup with the winner of the quarterfinal battle for West Des Moines.

If the Lightning can get to the finals it would likely get a rematch with Cedar Falls after falling to the Tigers in straight sets at the MVC tournament last month.

The Focus

How far can Liberty High go?

It has already been an amazing season for the Lightning. Liberty High surpassed its win total from the first two seasons in program history combined while reaching the state tournament for the first time in program history.

Now that Liberty High is at state the question is how far can it go. Liberty High has proven it can compete with the best teams in the state with regular season wins over West Des Moines Dowling and Ankeny.

A quarterfinal against Pleasant Valley won’t be easy nor would a quarterfinal matchup with battled tested West Des Moines Dowling or Valley but Liberty High has the depth, talent and coaching staff to reach a state title match which would be a huge boost for a young program.

Five Fast Facts

*- Five of the teams in the 5A field are returners from last season including 2018 semifinalists West Des Moines Valley and Cedar Falls.  The new teams to the 2019 field are Liberty High, Council Bluffs Abraham Lincoln and Pleasant Valley.

* – West Des Moines Valley has played a whopping 13 matches against teams in the Class 5A field goal 10-3 against state tourney teams.

* – Cedar Falls has won 28 consecutive sets entering the state tournament and has lost just five sets all season, dropping only two sets to instate competition and none to Class 5A opponents.   

* – Liberty High senior Rylee Fay ranks third in 5A this season and is tops among 5A state qualifiers with 68 ace serves.

* – Council Bluffs Abraham Lincoln has the lone player in the 5A with more than 100 blocks in 6-foot junior Kayla Schleifman (113) and the only player in 5A with more than 500 digs in senior Taylan Keefer (545).

The Schedule

Quarterfinals, November 12

Cedar Falls (41-1) vs. Waukee (35-11), Noon

Ankeny (36-5) vs. Council Bluffs Abraham Lincoln (38-3), 2 p.m.

Liberty High (34-2) vs. Pleasant Valley (29-5), Noon

West Des Moines Valley (40-4) vs. West Des Moines Dowling (32-11), 2 p.m.

Semifinals, November 14

Cedar Falls/Waukee winner vs. Ankeny/Council Bluffs Abraham Lincoln winner, 10 a.m.

Liberty High/Pleasant Valley winner vs. West Des Moines Valley/West Des Moines Dowling winner, 10 a.m.

Championship, November 15

Semifinal winners, 10 a.m.

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