At just 5-6 1/2, Lisbon’s Ava Czarnecki is among Iowa high school volleyball’s most prolific hitters

LISBON — Ava Czarnecki is one of the state leaders in kills per set.

Without a doubt, she’s No. 1 in kills per inch.

Modest in stature at 5 feet, 6 1/2 inches, the senior from Lisbon High School more than makes up for it with her vertical explosiveness.

“When you’re my height, you’ve got to get on top of the ball,” Czarnecki said.

She does it with a vertical leap that was registered last week at 26 1/2 inches.

“When I discuss what can happen if you have a passion for something, Ava is the example,” Lions Coach Lance Kamaus said.

It’s not as if Czarnecki was an instant star.

“In eighth grade, we had 14 girls out, and she was middle-of-the-road,” Kamaus said.

As a freshman, Czarnecki played on the fresh/soph team as the setter.

She earned a spot in the varsity rotation as a sophomore, playing front row only. She was a six-rotation player as a junior, but didn’t serve.

Now, Kamaus said, Czarnecki “doesn’t come off the floor unless she needs a rest and we’re up seven or eight points.”

Heading into the week, she is fourth statewide (all classes) in kills per set (5.49) and second in kill efficiency (.476).

Need another testament to her productivity? She is third in the state in total kills, 28th in swings.

Czarnecki played offseason club ball with the Iowa Rockets, and that has helped expand and enhance her game.

“I couldn’t serve well or play back-row well, but the Rockets helped with all that, making me a better overall player,” she said.

“I’ve grown so much.”

After the Lions (22-5 overall, 5-0 Tri-Rivers East Division) swept Bellevue Marquette last Thursday, Kamaus pulled up a 90-second montage of what he called a “greatest-hits tape” of Czarnecki’s most lethal attacks this season.

You saw the ball go down — sometimes directly to the floor, once or twice off a defender’s head — but saw something else new.

Emotion.

“Before this year, after a kill, she might give a little bit of a high-five,” Kamaus said. “Now, she’ll pump her fists and stomp on the ground.

“At (the Crestwood tournament Sept. 9), she demolished the ball. She had every shot in the book. Hard down the line, hard down the line, cross court, short cross.”

Czarnecki has crossed the 1,000-kill plateau in just three seasons as a varsity player. The Lions can clinch the outright divisional title Thursday, when they host North Cedar.

Today could be the day

The Iowa Girls High School Athletic Union will release postseason pairings this week, perhaps as early as this afternoon.

Regionals begin Oct. 16 for the smaller two classes, Oct. 17 for the larger three. Regional finals are Oct. 24-25.

The state tournament is Oct. 30-Nov. 2 at Xtream Arena in Coralville.

Comments: jeff.linder@thegazette.com