Wednesday’s best: 5 area 2A, 1A Iowa high school volleyball regional quarterfinals to watch (Oct. 23, 2024)

The area’s two longest volleyball active win streaks? They might surprise you.

Both come from unranked Class 2A teams.

Lisbon (30-7) has won 14 consecutive matches, including a run through the Tri-Rivers Conference tournament on Saturday. South Winneshiek (19-10) has won 12 in a row.

Both will be in action in 2A regional-quarterfinal matches.

Here are five of Wednesday’s best area regional quarterfinals:

Cascade (17-20) at No. 3 Dyersville Beckman (32-6)

Class 2A Region 3

By a wide margin, Beckman is the best area team in 2A or 1A. The Blazers bounced back from a loss to Anamosa in a winner-take-all sweepstakes for the River Valley Conference North Division title, beating the Blue Raiders for the divisional tournament crown, then winning the overall River Valley tournament. Beckman swept Cascade in their divisional match Sept. 26 and hasn’t lost to its Dubuque County rival since 2015. Todd Troutman earned his 700th career win earlier this season and will play at least a dozen players in his rotation. Cascade advanced with a four-set first-round win over Alburnett.

Durant (14-12) at Lisbon (30-7)

Class 2A Region 3

Lisbon has claimed its eighth consecutive Tri-Rivers Conference East Division championship, then followed that with a conference-tournament title. Junior Mykala Luzum-Selmon has developed into the Lions’ go-to hitter; she is averaging 4.84 kills per set and owns a .312 kill efficiency. Despite the disparity in rankings, this should be a competitive match. Durant has a glaring advantage in strength of schedule, sharpening its teeth against River Valley Conference South Division opposition. Senior Katelynn Toft and sophomore Allison Toft have more than 500 kills between them.

Maquoketa Valley (16-12) at Jesup (26-11)

Class 2A Region 4

Maquoketa Valley has won 11 of its last 12 matches, and seeks to reverse a home loss to Jesup (21-18, 21-13) way back on Aug. 29. The Wildcats were Tri-Rivers West Division runners-up, and with only one senior starter, they look like a force in 2025. You can say the same for Jesup, a squad led by juniors Sara Mead and Daley Donlea. The J-Hawks sported a competitive 2-2 mark in the rugged NICL East, with one of the wins coming over a ranked Wapsie Valley outfit.

Belle Plaine (16-13) at Hillcrest Academy (20-9)

Class 1A Region 7

The Plainsmen and the Ravens tangle for the first time in 11 years. They are nearly side by side in the Bound 1A power rankings: Belle Plaine is 41st; Hillcrest 45th. Senior Kayleah Laughlin is the undisputed leader of the Belle Plaine net attack, averaging 3.35 kills per set. Hillcrest has doubled its win total from last year and is enjoying its winningest season since 2013. Senior Malia Yoder averages 4.29 kills per set.

Edgewood-Colesburg (16-17) at North Linn (16-18)

Class 1A Region 8

Settle in and get comfortable when these teams collide; none of their last eight best-of-5 matches have been sweeps, and six of them have gone the full five sets. Ed-Co won the regular-season matchup this year in four sets. Both teams rolled in the first round: Ed-Co eliminated Cedar Valley Christian in three sets, and North Linn did the same to Central City. Juniors Savannah Drips and Lilee Boriskey are the top two attackers for Ed-Co; senior Teagan Liebe paces North Linn.

Wednesday’s complete area schedule

CLASS 2A REGIONAL QUARTERFINALS

(All matches 7 p.m.)

Region 3

Cascade (17-20) at No. 3 Dyersville Beckman (32-6)

Northeast (13-13) at Bellevue (15-16)

Columbus Community (11-16) at No. 14 West Burlington (35-6)

Durant (14-12) at Lisbon (30-7)

Region 4

Grand View Christian (9-20) at No. 4 Dike-New Hartford (26-15)

Colfax-Mingo (10-14) at Hudson (26-10)

Waterloo Columbus (12-25) at No. 13 Wapsie Valley (24-16)

Maquoketa Valley (16-12) at Jesup (26-11)

Region 5

Ogden (9-16) at No. 5 Aplington-Parkersburg (33-6)

Belmond-Klemme (19-8) at Lake Mills (19-14)

MFL MarMac (7-20) at No. 12 Sumner-Fredericksburg (23-17)

Osage (15-14) at South Winneshiek (19-10)

Region 8

Earlham (16-17) at No. 9 Pella Christian (22-11)

Pleasantville (23-11) at Guthrie Center ACGC (20-10)

West Branch (6-24) at No. 8 Iowa City Regina (21-14)

Pekin (7-11) at North Mahaska (20-1)

CLASS 1A REGIONAL QUARTERFINALS

(All matches 7 p.m.)

Region 1

Melcher-Dallas (9-12) at No. 1 Ankeny Christian (34-5)

Montezuma (13-14) at Sigourney (16-5)

Moravia (8-15) at Mormon Trail (25-2)

Seymour (19-12) at Southeast Warren (25-19)

Region 2

Winfield-Mount Union (17-11) at No. 3 Fort Madison Holy Trinity (26-12)

Wapello (17-11) at Burlington Notre Dame (24-13)

Easton Valley (11-15) at Springville (25-8)

North Cedar (11-19) at Calamus-Wheatland (24-9)

Region 3

Riceville (18-21) at No. 2 Saint Ansgar (24-6)

Turkey Valley (17-14) at Nashua-Plainfield (10-14)

Mason City Newman (10-10) at North Iowa (25-5)

Algona Garrigan (6-23) at West Bend-Mallard (17-9)

Region 6

Tripoli (11-20) at No. 7 Janesville (21-17)

Starmont (7-13) at No. 15 Dunkerton (24-11)

Lenox (23-15) at Stanton (19-16)

Lamoni (17-11) at No. 13 Southwest Valley (28-3)

Region 7

HLV (14-14) at No. 5 North Tama (22-15)

Belle Plaine (16-13) at Hillcrest Academy (20-9)

IKM-Manning (14-16) at No. 9 River Valley (28-2)

Boyer Valley (22-9) at Newell-Fonda (23-8)

Region 8

East Buchanan (10-22) at No. 8 Don Bosco (17-15)

Edgewood-Colesburg (16-17) at North Linn (16-18)

Griswold (17-15) at No. 10 Sidney (25-9)

Exira-EHK (15-5) at Fremont-Mills (23-10)

Comments: jeff.linder@thegazette.com