Ryan Murken

Your Prep Sports

The opening day of the 2025 state volleyball tournament is less than a week away.

Before the action gets underway on Monday at Xtream Arena in Coralville the fields for the 2025 state tournament need to be set.

That begins on Tuesday with regional title matches in the three largest classes across the state.

Four Your Prep Sports area teams are battling for spots at the state tournament on Tuesday including Liberty High and West High which meet in a Class 5A title game in Iowa City.

Here is a quick look at all three regional title matches featuring area teams.

Class 5A, Region 8

No. 10 Liberty High (24-10) at No. 8 West High (26-5)

Where: West High School

When: Tuesday, 7 p.m.

Players to watch: West High junior Sophia Austen leads the Trojans with 256 kills on .231 hitting and also has 28 blocks and 284 digs.

About the Trojans: West High has been among the most improved teams in the state this season and is attempting to complete a turnaround season under first-year head coach Jaedynn Evans with its first trip to the state tournament since 2016.

The Trojans have already doubled their win total from last season when they finished 13-18, posted their first winning season since 2017 and won the most matches in a single season since going 29-11 in 2015.

A regional title victory would add another chapter to an already impressive turnaround under Evans.

West High enters having won four consecutive matches, a stretch that includes a two-set sweep of Liberty High at the MVC Tournament and a sweep of Cedar Rapids Washington in the regional semifinal.

Four Trojans have at least 115 kills this season led by junior Iowa State commit Sophia Austen with 256.

Freshman Cyan Blommer has 255 kills and sophomores Taylor Otte and Audrey Small had 196 and 115 kills respectively.

Otte has a team-high 50 blocks, sophomore Izzie McDonald leads the Trojans with 361 digs and Lila Eastvold ranks second in 5A with 815 assists.

About the Lightning: Liberty High is seeking to return to the state tournament for the first time since a string of four consecutive state tournament appearances concluded with a 5A state title in 2022.

The Lightning edged Dubuque Hempstead in five sets in the regional semifinals to return to the regional title game for the seventh consecutive season.

Junior Ellie Wilson leads Liberty High with 205 kills while senior Jessica Steburg has 196 kills and junior Sydney Van Heukelom has 184 kills.

Junior setter Hadley Miller ranks fifth in 5A with 726 assists and has 122 kills and junior Ava Meidlinger has 121 kills.

Junior Edie Miller ranks third in Class 5A with 449 digs and Van Heukelom leads the Lightning with 65 blocks.

What to watch: West High has won both regular season meetings between the two cross-town rivals this season.

The Trojans won a five-set thriller in a regular season match in Iowa City on October 7 and added the two-set win in the MVC Tournament.

Otte and Austen each had 15 kills in the five-set West High win earlier this month while Blommer had 12 kills.

Wilson and Van Heukelom each had nine kills for Liberty High in the loss to West High as the Trojans finished with a 57-41 edge in kills.

Expect another close, down to the wire match on Tuesday between two very even teams.

Class 4A, Region 1

Cedar Rapids Xavier (15-15) at No. 1 Clear Creek Amana (40-3) 

Where: Clear Creek Amana High School

When: Tuesday, 7 p.m.

Players to watch: Cedar Rapids Xavier 6-foot-2 senior Macie Lupkes has a team-high 225 kills on .310 hitting and also leads the Saints with 60 blocks.

About the Saints: Cedar Rapids Xavier has reached the state tournament each of the past nine seasons, the third longest active state tournament streak in the state.

The Saints lost eight of 11 matches in the middle of the season but enter the regional title match riding a five-match winning streak and playing perhaps their best volleyball of the season.

Cedar Rapids Xavier won back-to-back regional matches over Oskaloosa and Grinnell to reach the title match.

The Saints are led by senior Macie Lupkes with 225 kills and 60 blocks while senior Kyanna Harbeck has 143 kills and freshman Sage Teagle has 123 kills.

Sophomore setter Maddie Ireland leads the Saints with 494 assists and junior Caylin Miller has a team-high 274 digs.

About the Clippers: Clear Creek Amana is seeking a fourth consecutive state tournament appearance and has high expectations after falling in the 4A state quarterfinals last season.

Before the Clippers can think about an elusive state title they must take care of business on Tuesday against a Cedar Rapids Xavier squad that handed Clear Creek Amana its first of three losses this season back in August.

During its string of three consecutive state tournament appearance Clear Creek Amana has been dominant in regional title matches, posting a pair of sweeps and a 3-1 win over Dallas Center-Grimes last season.

This season the Clippers enter the regional final having won eight of their last nine matches with six wins over ranked teams in that span.

Three players have more than 245 kills for Clear Creek Amana led by senior Averie Lower with 295 kills.

Junior Bailey Simpson has 269 kills, sophomore Julia Schlarbaum has 246 kills and senior Sariah Sherman has 134 kills.

Senior setter Emily Henderson has 902 assists and sophomore Kendall Ronnfeldt has a team-high 305 digs.

What to watch: The regular season meeting between the two teams was a 13-21, 21-16, 15-11 win for Cedar Rapids Xavier all the way back on August 30.

Lower was limited to four kills on 26 attempts in that match so look for the Clippers to establish their senior all-stater early on Tuesday.

Cedar Rapids Xavier on the other hand had five players with at least seven kills in a regional semifinal win at Grinnell on Thursday.

Lupkes and Teagle each had 10 kills, Harbeck had nine, Miller had eight and Anna Deutmeyer had seven.

Expect the Saints to try to get a similarly even stat sheet on Tuesday while leaning on Lupkes as much as possible.

Class 4A, Region 8

No. 8 Marion (27-13) at No. 7 Solon (29-9)

Where: Solon High School

When: Tuesday, 7 p.m.

Players to watch: Marion freshman Abbey Kirk ranks fourth in Class 4A with 360 kills on .231 hitting and has 274 digs, 42 blocks and a team-high 50 ace serves.

About the Spartans: Solon is seeking its first trip to the state tournament since 2014 and the Spartans enter the regional title game playing its best volleyball of the season.

The Spartans have won eight of their past 10 matches, a stretch that includes three wins over ranked teams including a two-set sweep of Marion in the semifinals of the WAMAC Tournament.

A balanced Solon attack that features six players with at least 74 kills is led by senior Kiley Devery with a team-high 315 kills on .263 hitting.

Freshman Amelia Guinn has 217 kills while senior Jozie Lahr has 172 kills and a team-high 112 blocks and freshman Makinley Galvan has 102 kills.

Senior libero Kennedey Whitford ranks fifth in Class 4A with 428 digs and senior Cydney Jaster leads Solon with 408 assists.

About the Wolves: Marion is chasing a fourth state tournament appearance in the past four seasons after having a string of three consecutive appearances end with a five-set loss to Carlisle in the regional title match last season.

The Wolves have won seven of their last 10 matches dating back to October 11 with the losses during that stretch coming to top-10 ranked teams Solon, Dike-New Hartford and West High.

Marion has five wins over ranked opponents during the month of October and reached the regional final with a four-set semifinal win over Gilbert.

Kirk leads a Marion attack that features five players with at least 125 kills.

Senior Braelin Wieseler has 210 kills on .254 hitting while junior Nayomi Vasser has 188 kills and a team-leading 57 blocks.

Senior Addison Parker has 178 kills and sophomore Hayden Dietz has 125 kills for the Wolves.

What to watch: Solon swept a pair of regular season matches from Marion this season.

The Spartans won a five-set thriller in a WAMAC East Division regular season match on September 23 in Marion and swept the Wolves in two sets in a WAMAC Tournament semifinal in Solon on October 16.

In the five-set Spartan win on September 23 Kirk had a match-high 29 kills and combined with Wieseler to account for 44 of the Wolves 65 kills.

At the WAMAC tournament Solon limited Kirk to nine kills on .139 hitting in a sweep.

Expect Solon to do everything it can to slow Kirk on Tuesday and make Marion spread the ball around to its other hitters. dew

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