Observations from the first week of the high school volleyball season

Anamosa is out fast again. Clear Creek Amana has lived up to through-the-roof expectations, so far. Keota has exceeded its win total from 2022, already.

A week into the new volleyball season ... some things, we know (or least think we do). Some things, we don’t (like, who’s going to take charge in the Mississippi Valley Conference?).

Five thoughts as August fades away:

Can Anamosa make this fast start stick?

The Blue Raiders got out to a 7-2 mark last year, but youth caught up to them and they finished 15-21.

A year older, Anamosa is 8-0 after winning three matches at Van Horne and claiming five straight Saturday on its way to the Cascade Invitational championship.

Juniors Reise Neuhaus (3.56 kills per set, .247 kill efficiency) and Lola Holub (2.44, .188) lead the attack, with sophomore Sophia Sander (8.78 assists per set) doing the distributing.

The Blue Raiders open River Valley Conference North Division play Thursday at Maquoketa.

CCA is Clipping right along

Top-ranked in Class 4A, Clear Creek Amana has done what a No. 1 squad should do.

The Clippers (6-0) have dominated, winning all 13 of their sets in stress-free fashion. That includes five matches at the Grinnell Invitational on Saturday.

Drake recruit Bliss Beck has been pinpoint, averaging 4.08 kills per set. Thanks in part to her accuracy (just five errors in 85 swings), she owns a kill efficiency of .565. Sam Schrage is hitting .436.

Ed-Co ready to make a jump

If you’re looking for a candidate to jump from sub-.500 in 2022 to a potential state-tournament team, consider Edgewood-Colesburg.

With two notable exceptions (seniors Audrie Helmrichs and Marin Gaul), Ed-Co is sophomore-laden. The Vikings went 4-0 at the Easton Valley Invitational on Saturday, which included a win over Wilton, a perennially strong 2A program.

Helmrichs is averaging 3.90 kills per set, Gaul 1.90.

The Vikings should be at or near the top of the Tri-Rivers West Division and will see good competition at the West Delaware and Union invitationals.

Questions abound in Class 5A

Which Corridor big-school team is going to carry the torch forward?

Reigning 5A state champion Iowa City Liberty was hit hard both by graduation and attrition (two 2022 non-senior starters did not come back out), and the Lightning are 3-4 after a five-set loss to Dubuque Wahlert on Tuesday.

Linn-Mar (2-0 overall) and Cedar Rapids Kennedy (3-2) both are 2-0 in the MVC Valley Division race. Both will be at the Warrior Invitational on Saturday at Cedar Rapids Washington.

Already beyond last year

Keota has gone the distance in four best-of-three matches and won all of them. That’s a big reason the Eagles are 5-2.

The five wins eclipses Keota’s mark of 4-20 last season.

The Eagles’ top three attackers (Izzi Chalupa, Grace Conger and Kimberly Clarahan) are juniors.

Comments: jeff.linder@thegazette.com