Class 4A state volleyball preview: Team capsules, stat leaders and predictions

CEDAR RAPIDS — Capsules for the Class 4A qualifiers at the Iowa high school state volleyball tournament, which runs Tuesday through Friday at the U.S. Cellular Center. Teams listed in bracket order.

No. 4 Sergeant Bluff-Luton (40-3)

Nickname — Warriors

Coach — Renee Winkel (3rd year, 104-30)

Tournament history — 4th appearance. Most recent was 2015.

Starting lineup

No. Name Ht. Yr. Pos

3 Lexi Sneller 5-9 Sr. S

5 Maya Schmidt 5-3 Jr. DS

6 Abby Minten 5-6 Jr. DS

7 Elle Sneller 6-0 So. OH

8 Kenzie Foley 5-11 So. OH

9 Kylee Christensen 6-0 Sr. MH

10 Madison Harms 6-2 Jr. MH

No. 5 Sioux City Heelan (33-10)

Nickname — Crusaders

Coach — Mary Miller (11th year at Heelan, 342-122; 37th year overall, 847-382)

Tournament history — 23rd appearance, fourth in a row. Three titles, last in 2007.

Starting lineup

No. Name Ht. Yr. Pos

2 Emma LaFleur 5-9 Jr. S

4 Alex Hope 5-11 Sr. MH

5 Nicole Jacobson 6-0 Jr. OH

6 Katelyn Stanley 5-8 So. MH

8 Allison Bermel 5-4 Sr. L

12 Katelyn Lawler 5-8 Sr. OH

15 Samantha McCabe 6-0 Sr. OH

No. 1 Cedar Rapids Xavier (31-9)

Nickname — Saints

Coach — Austin Filer (2nd year, 63-19)

Tournament history — 6th appearance, second straight. 4A semifinalist last year.

Starting lineup

No. Name Ht. Yr. Pos

1 Elle Choate 6-0 Sr. MH

10 Keera Ball 5-5 Jr. DS

12 Jade Henderson 5-5 Sr. L

14 Olivia Richards 5-11 Jr. OH

15 Jaz Yamilkoski 5-9 Fr. S

16 Emily Jasper 5-11 Jr. MH

18 Charlotte Richards 6-0 Sr. OH

No. 12 Independence (33-8)

Nickname — Mustangs

Coach — Joe Schmitz (8th year at Independence, 181-120; 22nd year overall, 356-329)

Tournament history — 2nd appearance. Previous was 2013.

Starting lineup

No. Name Ht. Yr. Pos

1 Abby Davis 5-4 Jr. S

3 Holly Cooksley 5-9 Jr. S

4 Sydney Hearn 5-6 Jr. L

9 Allie Jo Zieser 5-6 So. OH

10 Allison Doyle 5-7 Sr. OH

11 Madison Larson 6-0 Jr. OH

12 Alaina Butters 5-7 So. OH

No. 3 Waverly-Shell Rock (42-5)

Nickname — Go-Hawks

Coach — EaVon Woodin (29th year at WSR, 902-246; 37th year overall, 1,029-284)

Tournament history — 10th appearance. Won titles in 2009 and 2011.

Starting lineup

No. Name Ht. Yr. Pos

7 Claire Marsh 5-8 Sr. S

11 Krissa Larson 5-11 Sr. OH

12 Jayme Willemssen 6-0 Sr. OH

13 Abbey Thier 5-10 Sr. MH

14 Jaz Westmoreland 5-10 So. OH

16 Jessica Jacobs 5-11 Jr. MH

21 Britney Young 5-8 So. L

No. 6 Lewis Central (32-5)

Nickname — Titans

Coach — Mike Bond (3rd year at Lewis Central, 95-20; 21st year overall, 313-338)

Tournament history — 5th appearance, and third straight.

Starting lineup

No. Name Ht. Yr. Pos

1 Rachel Cushing So. L

15 Delaney Esterling So. MH

16 Meagan Holt Sr. OH

18 Megan Witte So. OH

19 Natalie Driver So. S

31 Katherine Poore Sr. OH

32 Lauren Payne So. MH

No. 2 Dubuque Wahlert (19-9)

Nickname — Golden Eagles

Coach — Lindsey Beaves (5th year, 94-73)

Tournament history — 30th appearance. 18-time champion, including a title last year.

Starting lineup

No. Name Ht. Yr. Pos

2 Aliyah Carter So. OH

3 Emma Duehr Jr. OH

5 Jenna Gremmel Sr. S

8 Krystal Tranel Sr. DS

11 Carolyn Conlon Jr. MH

12 Mykenna Horchak Sr. OH

16 Anna Sherman Sr. MH

No. 9 Pella (33-6)

Nickname — Dutch

Coach — Catie Brand (6th year, 157-75)

Tournament history — 9th appearance, and third straight. 4A runner-up last year.

Starting lineup

No. Name Ht. Yr. Pos

2 Cecily Johnson 5-7 Sr. DS

3 Kara Wichhart 5-8 Sr. S

6 Natalie Clayberg 6-0 Jr. OH

9 Kalin Valster 5-9 Jr. OH

10 Emily Holterhaus 6-2 Jr. MH

12 Jenna Schulte 6-0 Jr. MH

19 Kennady Klein 5-6 Jr. L

Stat leaders

Kills per set

Emily Holterhaus, Pella 5.74

Aliyah Carter, Dubuque Wahlert 4.96

Madison Larson, Independence 4.17

Charlotte Richards, Cedar Rapids Xavier 4.07

Katherine Poore, Lewis Central 3.95

Assists per set

Jenna Gremmel, Dubuque Wahlert 9.74

Claire Marsh, Waverly-Shell Rock 9.40

Kara Wichhart, Pella 9.25

Lexi Sneller, Sergeant Bluff-Luton 8.35

Natalie Driver, Lewis Central 5.43

Digs per set

Jade Henderson, Cedar Rapids Xavier 5.44

Sydney Hearn, Independence 5.07

Krystal Tranel, Dubuque Wahlert 4.80

Rachel Cushing, Lewis Central 4.37

Kennady Klein, Pella 4.07

Aces per set

Abby Davis, Independence 0.61

Charlotte Richards, Cedar Rapids Xavier 0.59

Claire Marsh, Waverly-Shell Rock 0.58

Natalie Clayberg, Pella 0.54

Kenzie Foley, Sergeant Bluff-Luton 0.52

Blocks per set

Madison Harms, Sergeant Bluff-Luton 1.58

Kylee Christensen, Sergeant Bluff-Luton 1.03

Elle Choate, Cedar Rapids Xavier 0.87

Jessica Jacobs, Waverly-Shell Rock 0.81

Delaney Esterling, Lewis Central 0.80

Predictions

Quarterfinals

Sergeant Bluff-Luton over Sioux City Heelan in 5

Cedar Rapids Xavier over Independence in 4

Waverly-Shell Rock over Lewis Central in 5

Dubuque Wahlert over Pella in 4

Semifinals

Cedar Rapids Xavier over Sergeant Bluff-Luton in 5

Dubuque Wahlert over Waverly-Shell Rock in 4

Championship

Cedar Rapids Xavier over Dubuque Wahlert in 5

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l Comments: (319) 368-8857; jeff.linder@thegazette.com

Pella's Emily Holterhaus and Sioux City Heelan's Alex Hope battle at the net at last year's state tournament. Both players are back for their respective teams and will play this week at the U.S. Cellular Center. (Cliff Jette/The Gazette)

Cedar Rapids Xavier's Ellie McDermott and Cedar Rapids Xavier enter the state volleyball tournament as the No. 1 team in Class 4A. (Cliff Jette/The Gazette)

Independence's Syndey Hearn is second in Class 4A in digs pers set. (Jim Slosiarek/The Gazette)