Class 5A state volleyball preview: Team capsules, stat leaders and predictions

CEDAR RAPIDS — Capsules for the Class 5A 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. 1 Cedar Falls (40-2)

Nickname — Tigers

Coach — Matthew Johnson (4th year at Cedar Falls, 145-22; 14th year overall, 448-138)

Tournament history — 19th appearance, and third in a row. 5A runner-up last year.

Starting lineup

No. Name Ht. Yr. Pos

1 Abby Hendrickson 5-2 Sr. DS

7 Grace Burken 6-1 Sr. MH

10 Tayah Mahi 5-10 Sr. S

11 Emily Clapp 5-9 Jr. DS

12 Claire Gerdes 6-0 Sr. MH

14 Taylor Lynch 5-11 Sr. OH

18 Cynthia Wolf 6-3 Sr. MH

No. 14 Urbandale (24-13)

Nickname — J-Hawks

Coach — Liz Baethke (18th year at Urbandale, 489-210; 23rd year, 570-279)

Tournament history — 8th appearance, first since 2013.

Starting lineup

No. Name Ht. Yr. Pos

2 Mylea Cole Jr. S

3 Allison Yoder Sr. DS

8 Sydney Smetzer Jr. DS

11 Brooke Dannenfeldt Jr. MH

12 Emily DeDoncker Sr. OH

16 Jayden Walter Jr. OH

17 Rachel Brockney So. OH

No. 4 Cedar Rapids Jefferson (39-6)

Nickname — J-Hawks

Coaches — Amy & Will Norton (3rd year, 72-45)

Tournament history — 9th appearance, first since 1997. Runner-up in 1996.

Starting lineup

No. Name Ht. Yr. Pos

3 Maddy Baxter 5-8 Jr. S

4 Raya George 5-6 Jr. DS

10 Kaylee Donner 5-6 Jr. L

14 Maddie Slagle 5-9 Sr. OH

18 Maggie Peters 5-11 Jr. MH

21 Sydney Kloubec 5-9 Jr. OH

27 Meghan Prohaska 5-8 Jr. MH

No. 5 Linn-Mar (30-10)

Nickname — Lions

Coach — Teresa Bair (5th year at Linn-Mar, 141-54; 29th year overall, 720-194)

Tournament history — 4th appearance, and second consecutive.

Starting lineup

No. Name Ht. Yr. Pos

3 Isabel Schminke 5-3 Sr. L

5 Tori Niemeyer 5-8 Jr. OH

6 Megan Renner 6-2 Jr. S

7 Chloe McNeese 5-4 Sr. DS

8 Ellie Von Lehmden 5-8 Jr. OH

10 Carly Spies 6-2 Sr. MH

11 Anna Gorsich 5-11 Jr. MH

No. 2 West Des Moines Valley (39-7)

Nickname — Tigers

Coach — Jeremy Mikesell (8th year at Valley, 250-101; 20th year overall, 506-240)

Tournament history — 8th appearance, second consecutive. 5A semifinalist last year.

Starting lineup

No. Name Ht. Yr. Pos

1 Camryn Anonson Jr. L

2 Jacey Spann So. MH

5 Cassie Yardley Sr. MH

8 Ronni DeCarlo Sr. S

9 Stephany Twit Sr. OH

10 Madi Kubik Jr. OH

12 Macy Schuette Jr. OH

No. 7 West Des Moines Dowling (34-9)

Nickname — Maroons

Coach — Mary Beth Wiskus (9th year, 277-88)

Tournament history — 6th appearance, and sixth in a row.

Starting lineup

No. Name Ht. Yr. Pos

2 Caroline Haliwell Sr. DS

3 Ellie Flynn Sr. DS

5 Anna Harman Sr. OH

6 Allena Shimon So. S

8 Jacey Koethe Jr. MH

9 Sally Gaul Sr. OH

10 Allison Naughton Sr. MH

No. 3 Ankeny Centennial (29-7)

Nickname — Jaguars

Coach — Jessica Rinehart (5th year, 171-27)

Tournament history — 5th appearance, and fifth in a row. Three-time defending 5A champion.

Starting lineup

No. Name Ht. Yr. Pos

4 Elli Teeple 5-6 Sr. S

7 Erica Heinzerling 5-11 Sr. OH

9 Kenna Sauer 6-0 Jr. OH

11 Devyn Robinson 6-1 So. MH

16 Josie Magner 5-6 Jr. L

17 Ari Winters 6-1 Jr. OH

23 Megan Lively 6-3 Jr. MH

No. 6 Dubuque Hempstead (28-7)

Nickname — Mustangs

Coach — Travis Wills (4th year, 97-44)

Tournament history — 18th appearance, third in a row. Won titles in 1975 and 2003.

Starting lineup

No. Name Ht. Yr. Pos

4 Jada Wills 5-10 So. OH

5 Emily Watson 5-9 Sr. MH

6 Alana Cooksley 5-8 Sr. S

7 Corinne Meyer 5-11 Fr. OH

12 Ella Pettinger 5-11 Fr. MH

15 Amber Cooksley 5-10 Sr. OH

21 Julia Meehan 5-9 Sr. L

Stat leaders

Kills per set

Madi Kubik, West Des Moines Valley 5.36

Jada Wills, Dubuque Hempstead 4.55

Emily DeDoncker, Urbandale 3.17

Maddie Slagle, Cedar Rapids Jefferson 3.04

Ari Winters, Ankeny Centennial 3.02

Assists per set

Tayah Mahi, Cedar Falls 10.26

Maddy Baxter, Cedar Rapids Jefferson 9.60

Allena Shimon, West Des Moines Dowling 8.55

Alana Cooksley, Dubuque Hempstead 8.44

Megan Renner, Linn-Mar 7.77

Digs per set

Allison Yoder, Urbandale 6.52

Rylee Tilton, Ankeny Centennial 4.95

Kaylee Donner, Cedar Rapids Jefferson 4.83

Camryn Anonson, West Des Moines Valley 4.65

Jada Wills, Dubuque Hempstead 4.60

Aces per set

Taylor Lynch, Cedar Falls 0.86

Akacia Brown, Cedar Falls 0.58

Payton Lombardi, West Des Moines Valley 0.51

Maddy Baxter, Cedar Rapids Jefferson 0.50

Olivia Curry, West Des Moines Valley 0.49

Blocks per set

Devyn Robinson, Ankeny Centennial 1.18

Claire Gerdes, Cedar Falls 0.98

Maggie Peters, Cedar Rapids Jefferson 0.88

Anna Gorsich, Linn-Mar 0.84

Jacey Koethe, West Des Moines Dowling 0.83

Predictions

Quarterfinals

Cedar Falls over Urbandale in 3

Cedar Rapids Jefferson over Linn-Mar in 5

West Des Moines Valley over West Des Moines Dowling in 5

Ankeny Centennial over Dubuque Hempstead in 4

Semifinals

Cedar Falls over Cedar Rapids Jefferson in 4

Ankeny Centennial over West Des Moines Valley in 5

Championship

Cedar Falls over Ankeny Centennial in 4

State volleyball previews

Class 4A

Class 3A

Class 2A

Class 1A

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