Ryan Murken

Your Prep Sports

The Field

No. 4 West Des Moines Dowling (29-6) vs. No. 5 West High (28-6) 

West High and West Des Moines Dowling meet for the fourth time this season with the Maroons holding a 2-1 edge in the previous two meetings.

The Trojans won the first regular season meeting at West High on September 10 and West Des Moines Dowling won each of the last two meetings, at Xtream Arena on October 3 and in Cedar Rapids on October 10.

West High is making its second consecutive state meet appearance after falling to runner-up Ankeny Centennial in the quarterfinals last season.

The Trojans have won 17 of their last 19 matches with lone two losses during that stretch coming to West Des Moines Dowling.

West High is 5-3 against 5A state qualifiers this season with wins over Dowling, Ankeny Centennial, Cedar Falls and Pleasant Valley.

Senior Sophia Austen leads four West High players with more than 180 kills, while sophomore Cyan Blommer has 297 kills on .263 hitting.

Junior Taylor Otte has 199 kills on .354 hitting and leads the Trojans with 79 blocks while sophomore Josephine Austen has 183 kills and a team-high 56 ace serves.

Junior libero Izzie McDonald is an Iowa commit and has a team-high 360 digs for the Trojans while senior setter Lila Eastvold leads Class 5A with 869 assists.

West Des Moines Dowling is making its 15^th consecutive state tournament appearance which is tied for the third longest streak of consecutive state appearances in state history and the longest stretch for any large class program in the state.

The Maroons fell to Ankeny in the quarterfinals last season and are seeking their first state tournament win since 2024.

West Des Moines Dowling is 5-5 against Class 5A state qualifiers this season with wins over West High, Cedar Falls, Pleasant Valley and Ankeny Centennial.

The Maroons returned to the state tournament with a regional final sweep of No. 11 Indianola.

Junior Caroline Crane leads four players with at least 170 kills while junior Kennedy Klein has 240 kills and senior Kaylie Klein has 237 kills.

Junior Gianna Stanfel has 174 kills, freshman Hailey Reinders has a team-high 79 blocks and senior Katie Muller has 73 blocks.

Junior Audree Gerke has 358 digs and juniors Jaya Morrow (516 assists) and Kate Clendenin (416) assists have combined for 932 assists.

No. 1 Waukee Northwest (29-2) vs. No. 8 Pleasant Valley (22-9)  

Defending state champion Waukee Northwest returns to the state tournament for the fifth consecutive season seeking a fourth straight state title game appearance and third state title in the past four years.

Waukee Northwest brings an 18-match winning streak into the state tournament with the lone in-state loss for the Wolves coming to No. 12 West Des Moines Valley on August 27.

The Wolves are a perfect 7-0 this season against 5A state qualifiers and have wins over five of the teams in the Class 5A field.

Senior Logan Vogt headlines a list of four Wauke Northwest players with at least 150 kills while senior Piper Ladwig has 225 kills on .372 hitting and 65 blocks.

Junior Avery Cordes has 182 kills while hitting .350 and has 79 blocks and senior Leah Janulewicz has 152 kills.

Senior Cassidy Danburg has 95 kills and a team-high 99 blocks while senior London Taylor leads the Wolves with 286 digs.

Pleasant Valley returned to the state tournament for the eighth consecutive season with a sweep of No. 10 Johnston in the regional title match.

The Spartans have been among the most successful teams in the state over the past decade winning 5A titles in 2021 and 2024 during its string of eight consecutive appearances.

All nine losses for Pleasant Valley have come to ranked opponents including five losses to top-five ranked teams.

Four different Pleasant Valley players have at least 100 kills this season led by senior Mazie Sweers with 261 kills.

Clare Yeggy has 231 kills on .350 hitting and has a team-high 76 blocks and sophomore Avrielle Ohda has 123 kills.

Senior Addison Allaman leads the Spartans with 274 digs.

No. 2 Dallas Center-Grimes (33-2) vs. No. 7 Cedar Falls (32-9) 

After missing out on the state tournament last season Cedar Falls returns to the state tournament for the third time in the past four seasons.

The Tigers bring a 13-match winning streak into the state tournament after a sweep of ninth-ranked Liberty High in the regional title match.

Eight of the nine losses for the Spartans have come to state tournament qualifiers including four losses to teams in the Class 5A field.

Cedar Falls is the only team in Class 5A with two players with 300 kills this season in senior Kennedy Krecklow and sophomore Hadassah Smith.

Krecklow has a team-high 377 kills and Smith has 365 kills on .393 hitting and leads the Tigers with 96 blocks.

Kenley Mather has 150 kills and senior Piper Smith has 132 kills while Kinzie Clayton has a team-high 507 assists and senior Layten Schmidt has 482 assists.

Dallas Center-Grimes is making its second consecutive state tournament appearance and first in Class 5A.
The Mustangs lost in the Class 4A quarterfinals last season but have been impressive in their jump to 5A this season.

Dallas Center-Grimes has wins over 5A qualifier Ankeny Centennial and reached the state tournament with a win over No. 14 City High in the regional title game.

The lone two losses for the Mustangs have come to top-ranked teams Norwalk and Waukee Northwest.

Three different players have 200 kills for Dallas Center-Grimes led by junior Madison Messerly who has a team-high 267 kills.

Senior Maggie Leifker has 239 kills on .469 hitting and a team-high 70 blocks and junior Ava Smid has 204 kills.

Junior Anna Jackson has a team-high 286 digs and senior Gwen Farley ranks second in 5A in assists.

No. 3 Ankeny (31-6) vs. No. 6 Ankeny Centennial (27-8)

Cross-town rivals Ankeny and Ankeny Centennial meet in a winner take all showdown in the 5A quarterfinals.

Ankeny won the only regular season meeting between the two teams in four sets on September 15 at Ankeny Centennial.

Ankeny is making its ninth consecutive state tournament appearance after falling to state champion Waukee Northwest in the semifinals last season.

The Hawks bring an eight-game winning streak into the state quarterfinals that includes wins over 5A qualifier West Des Moines Dowling and 4A top-ranked Norwalk along with a regional final sweep of No. 13 Cedar Rapids Kennedy.

Ankeny has three players with more than 200 kills this season led by junior Hailey Wiederin who leads 5A with 400 kills.

Senior Marlee Ellison has 295 kills on .301 hitting and junior Elle Isaacson has 235 kills while senior Quinn Roush has a 5A-leading 107 blocks.

Sophomore setter Kellen Roush has 811 assists and senior Katelyn Mescher has a team-high 310 digs.

Ankeny Centennial is making its seventh consecutive state tournament appearance after finishing runner-up to Waukee Northwest last season.

The Jaguars returned to the state tournament with a sweep of Bettendorf in the regional title match.

All eight of the losses for Ankeny Centennial this season have come to state qualifiers, including seven losses to teams in the 5A field.

Ankeny Centennial has four players with more than 150 kills led by freshman Madi Van Bruggen with 245.

Senior Sophia Heither has 170 kills on .370 hitting and a team-high 70 blocks and Bailey Snyder has 169 kills.

Sidney Rogers has 164 kills and 46 blocks and junior Kaelyn Rinehart has a team-high 339 digs.

The Faces

West High: Sophia Austen, 6-1, Sr. – An Iowa State recruit, Austen was a first-team all-state pick a year ago and has racked up 1,064 career kills. Austen has a team-high 314 kills on .301 hitting this season and ranks second on the team with 252 digs.

Cedar Falls: Kennedy Krecklow, 5-8, Sr. – A third-team all-state pick last season, Krecklow ranks third in Class 5A with 377 kills on .329 hitting and leads the Tigers with 318 digs while ranking second the team with 35 ace serves.

Dallas Center-Grimes: Gwen Farley, 5-10, Sr. – Among the top setters in the state, the Valparaiso recruit ranks second in Class 5A with 839 assists to go with 71 kills, 239 digs and 48 ace serves.

Waukee Northwest: Logan Vogt, 6-2, Sr. – An Iowa State recruit, Vogt was an Elite all-state selection last season and leads the Wolves with 297 kills on .328 hitting and has 48 blocks, 187 digs and 39 ace serves.

Ankeny: Hailey Wiederin, 6-2, Jr. – The Northern Iowa commit, leads Class 5A in kills with 400 while hitting .392 and has added 67 blocks, 167 digs and 42 ace serves.

Pleasant Valley: Mazie Sweers, 5-11, Sr. – A Missouri Western commit, Sweers does it all for the Spartans leading the team with 261 kills on .282 hitting to go with 209 assists, 26 blocks, 171 digs and a team-high 33 ace serves.

West Des Moines Dowling: Caroline Crane, 5-11, Jr. – A Fresno State recruit, Crane has a team-high 317 kills and leads Class 5A in hitting efficiency at .491 while adding 59 blocks and a team-best 49 ace serves.

Ankeny Centennial: Madi VanBruggen, 6-0, Fr. – Among the top freshman in the state VanBruggen leads the Jaguars with 245 kills on .283 hitting and ranks third on the team with 38 blocks.

The Favorite

Defending state champion Waukee Northwest enters top-ranked and is the favorite to hoist the 5A trophy for the third time in the past four season.

The Wolves have played in the 5A title game each of the past three seasons, finishing runner-up in 2024 and enter with a 5A field-low two losses on the season.

Waukee Northwest swept its way to the 5A title last season and has more than enough firepower to become the first repeat 5A champ since Ankeny Centennial won its third straight crown in 2016.

The Forecast

A year ago the top two seeds (Waukee Northwest and Ankeny Centennial) met in the state title game a year ago but a pair of lower seeds (Ankeny and West Des Moines Dowling) won in the opening round.

The bracket shapes up for another exciting week in Class 5A.

The quarterfinals feature a meeting of rivals Ankeny and Ankeny Centennial and a fourth matchup this season between West Des Moines Dowling and West High.

Either of those teams could be a handful in the semifinals for defending champion Waukee Northwest if the Wolves can get by Pleasant Valley in a rematch of the 2024 title match.

Keep an eye on Dallas Center-Grimes which makes the jump up to Class 5A after reaching the 4A state tournament a year ago.

The Focus

Who can deny Waukee Northwest a second consecutive title?

The Wolves are seeking a repeat and enter as the favorite but there are plenty of teams capable of keeping Waukee Northwest from continuing its recent dominance.

Five Fast Facts

*- Ankeny Centennial freshman Madi VanBruggen has the seventh most kills of any freshman in the state with 245 and has the second most kills for a freshman in Class 5A.

*- 11 of the last 12 Class 5A titles have been won by a team in the 2026 state tournament field.

* – Six of the eight teams from last year’s 5A state tournament return to Xtream Arena this week including three of the four semifinalists and both teams that reached the title game.

* – Ankeny senior Quinn Roush is only player in Class 5A and one of only 12 players in the state to reach triple digits in blocks, posting a 5A-best 107 blocks.

* – West High senior setter Lila Eastvold leads Class 5A in assists and has racked up 1,764 assists over the past two seasons.

The Schedule

Quarterfinals, November 2

Waukee Northwest vs. Pleasant Valley, Noon

West Des Moines Dowling vs. West High, 2 p.m.

Dallas Center-Grimes vs. Cedar Falls, 12:35 p.m.

Ankeny vs. Ankeny Centennial, 2:35 p.m.

Semifinals, November 4

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

Dallas Center Grimes/Cedar Falls winner vs. Ankeny/Ankeny Centennial winner, 10:35 a.m.

Championship, November 5

Semifinal winners, 10 a.m.

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