Ryan Murken

Your Prep Sports

The volleyball season came to a close last Thursday with five teams hoisting championship trophies at Xtream Arena in Coralville.

West High, Clear Creek Amana and Regina represented the Your Prep Sports area at the state tournament last week in what was yet another memorable season of volleyball in the area.

With the 2025 season in the rearview mirror Your Prep Sports puts the finishing touches on a stellar season by looking back at some of the best players, performances, moments and matches from the season.

Best individual performance: Bailey Simpson against Mount Pleasant. Simpson wasn’t perfect in a regional semifinal sweep of Mount Pleasant but the Clear Creek Amana junior wasn’t far off. Simpson had 19 kills on .692 hitting and added a block, an assist and an ace serve.

Best individual performance part 2: Kiley Devery against Marion. Among the top hitters in the state Devery had perhaps the best game of her Solon career in her final match hammering 23 kills on .436 hitting in a five-set regional final loss to the Wolves. The 6-foot-2 Devery added six digs, three blocks and an ace serve in the regional final loss.

Best team performance: Regina against Sumner-Fredericksburg. In the biggest match of the season Regina came up with perhaps its best performance in a regional final sweep of tenth-ranked Sumner-Fredericksburg. Reese Naeve led three Regina players with at least six kills with a match-high 34 as the Regals hit .257 as a team and had a 50-40 edge in kills.

Coach of the year: Jaedynn Evans. In her first season leading the West High program Evans directed one of the top turnarounds in the state snapping a string of seven consecutive sub-.500 seasons by leading the Trojans to a 27-6 record, their highest win total since 2015 and the first state tournament berth since 2016.

Best clutch performance: Jada Wiltz against Sumner-Fredericksburg. The stats for the Regina freshman aren’t eye-popping but Wiltz stepped up in the absence of an injured starter and helped Regina secure the first back-to-back state tournament appearances in program history. Wiltz had a career-high eight kills and added 17 digs in a regional final sweep of No. 10 Sumner-Fredericksburg.

Best all-around player: Liberty High junior Hadley Miller. Set, hit, pass, serve, there isn’t much that Miller doesn’t do on the volleyball court and the 5-foot-5 junior setter does it all at a high level. Miller ranked sixth in 5A with 8.2 assists per set handing out 758 assists but that’s just the start. Miller ranked fourth on the team with 133 kills on .262 hitting, she was second on the team with 306 digs, fourth with 25 blocks and led the Lightning with 37 ace serves.

Biggest upset: Regina over Mid-Prairie. Regina denied Class 3A eighth-ranked Mid-Prairie an unbeaten River Valley Conference season with a four-set win over the Golden Hawks in Wellman. The win for Regina was the first loss for Mid-Prairie against a team that wasn’t Class 4A or 5A this season and snapped a 10-game winning streak in RVC South Division matches.

Best comeback: West High against City High. On the road, against your arch rival, down two sets to none comebacks don’t come any bigger or better. That’s what West High faced as it rallied for its second five-set win over cross-town rival City High in as many years in the annual Battle for the Spike. West High trailed 20-18 in the fourth set before forcing a fifth set with a 25-23 win and trailed 4-1 early in the fifth but rallied again for a 15-9 win.

Best match: West High vs. Liberty High. What else would you expect in a rivalry matchup of top-10 teams than a five-set thriller? West High got 15 kills each from Taylor Otte and Sophia Austen to fend of Libert High in five sets, winning the fifth set 15-11.

Best moment: Lucy Maassen against City High. Maassen was a two-year starter with 415 career kills but a pre-season knee injury sidelined her for the season. On senior night Maassen made her only appearance of the year, collecting a dig late in the third set of a sweep of cross-town rival City High.

Breakthrough performer: Clear Creek Amana sophomore Julia Schlarbaum. After showing flashes of her potential with 94 kills as a complimentary player last season Schlarbaum flourished in an expanded role this fall. The 6-foot Schlarbaum ranked third on the team with 264 kills on .288 hitting adding 283 digs and a team-high 72 ace serves.

Most improved: Regina junior Adalee Klein. Talk about taking a big step forward. Last season Klein had 33 kills on .034 hitting and a team-high 43 blocks in 100 sets, a solid debut season. This season the 6-foot-2 Klein emerged as a force on both sides of the net ranking third on the team with 134 kills on .231 hitting while leading the Regals with 69 blocks in 116 sets.

Breakout star: City High junior Hattie Galloway. After consecutive strong seasons to open her career Galloway put together a breakout junior season establishing herself as one of the top players in the state. The 6-foot-1 Galloway posted career-highs in kills (270), blocks (73) and digs (107) leading the Little Hawks in kills, blocks and hitting efficiency (.321).

Most versatile: West High junior Sophia Austen. There were plenty of players that stepped up to help West High to its best season in more than a decade and at the top of that list was its junior leader in Austen. An Iowa State recruit, Austen ranked in the top three on the team in kills (285), digs (318), blocks (36) and ace serves (34) helping the Trojans to its first state tournament appearance in nine seasons.

Newcomer of the year: West High sophomore Taylor Otte. Otte thrived in her first season at West High providing hitting punch out of the middle for a Trojan team that posted its highest win total since 2015. Otte ranked third on the team with 209 kills on a team-best .329 hitting and led the Trojans with 59 blocks.

Under the radar star: West Branch senior Briley Kaalberg. The 6-foot Kaalberg quietly put together a stellar senior season leading the Bears in kills (228), hitting efficiency (.337) and blocks (115). Kaalberg ranked 10^th in the state in blocks and was one of only seven players state-wide with at least 110 blocks, 200 kills and a hitting efficiency over .300.

Most reliable: Clear Creek Amana senior Emily Henderson. The Clippers relied on Henderson for a lot on the court and the senior setter never failed to deliver. A four-year starter, Clear Creek Amana went 159-24 and reached the state tournament four times with Henderson running the offense. The 5-foot-8, Henderson was at her best this season posting a career-high 1,012 assists with 92 kills on .433 hitting to go with 249 digs, 26 blocks and 14 ace serves.

Unsung hero: West Branch senior Dani Crutchley. It’s easy to overlook players in the back row but the season Crutchley put together is more than worthy of recognition. The 5-foot-6 Crutchley ranked 11^th in the state with 5.6 digs per set, racking up 540 digs while also leading West Branch with 32 ace serves.

Most consistent: Clear Creek Amana senior Averie Lower. There may not have been a player in the state that produced more consistently at a high level as Lower the past four seasons. The all-time career kill leader at Clear Creek Amana, Lower posted a fourth consecutive season with at least 220 kills and 290 digs. Lower had a team-high 344 kills on a career-best .285 hitting this season and ranked second on the team with 296 digs.

Freshman of the year: West High’s Cyan Blommer. One of the top freshmen in the state this season the 5-foot-10 Blommer burst onto the varsity scene leading West High in kills while helping the Trojans return to the state tournament for the first time since 2016. Blommer led West High with 287 kills on .217 hitting and ranked second on the team with 320 digs.

Freshman of the year part 2: Solon’s Amelia Guinn. The more Guinn played, the better the 6-foot-1 future star got this season as she closed a stellar freshman campaign with a career-high 20-kill performance in a regional final loss to Marion. Guinn ranked second on the team with 237 kills on .220 hitting this season to go with 67 digs and 30 blocks.

Back row player of the year: Liberty High junior Edie Miller. One of the premier backrow players in the state Miller earns this award for the second consecutive season after another brilliant year anchoring the Lightning back row. A Dayton recruit, Miller ranked third in Class 5A with 480 digs, and was second in 5A with 5.2 digs per set while adding 34 ace serves.

Most valuable player: Regina senior Reese Naeve. The state leader in kills for the second consecutive season Naeve continued to grow her all-around game while cementing her status as one of the state’s best players. An Iowa State recruit, Naeve hammered 730 kills, nearly 200 more than any other player in the state, and ranked 16^th in the state with a career-high 505 digs.

Naeve also had a career-high 40 blocks and 36 ace serves while helping Regina (30-14) to its highest win total in more than 15 seasons and the first back-to-back state tournament appearances in program history.

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