Jeff Linder

Freshman Elsie Hoegh co-led Boyden-Hull in kills Tuesday, and the second-ranked Comets defeated Council Bluffs St. Albert, 23-25, 25-16, 25-19, 25-20, in a Class 1A quarterfinal at the state volleyball tournament Tuesday night at Xtream Arena.

Grundy Center advanced with a Class 2A state volleyball quarterfinal win over Carroll Kuemper behind Carlie Willis’ 28 kills.

Hinton’s Bailey Boeve has turned her game up another level as a sophomore. Boeve collected 16 kills, and second-ranked Hinton dusted No. 8 Aplington-Parkersburg in a straight-set Class 2A quarterfinal at the state volleyball tournament Tuesday afternoon at Xtream Arena.

Center Point-Urbana’s surge made this Class 3A state volleyball quarterfinal intriguing, but Western Christian answered for its 24th consecutive semifinal appearance.

Eighth-ranked Union pulled a surprising sweep at the state volleyball tournament Wednesday morning at Xtream Arena, taking down No. 2 Cherokee in a Class 3A quarterfinal, 25-21, 25-21, 25-15.

Down 11-5 in Game 5, sixth-ranked Lewis Central battled all the way back and toppled No. 3 Cedar Rapids Xavier in a 2-hour, 6-minute Class 4A quarterfinal marathon (25-21, 13-25, 25-19, 22-25, 17-15) at the state volleyball tournament Monday night at Xtream Arena.

Potent but erratic for much of the match, second-rated Indianola cleaned things up late and escaped the No. 7 Wolves in a five-set Class 4A quarterfinal at the state volleyball tournament Monday night at Xtream Arena.

The three Vogt sisters — and their mother/coach — helped Waukee Northwest earns its first state volleyball tournament win in school history.

Anna Sash and Jaeden Pratt formed a fifth-set wall, and second-ranked Centennial held off No. 7 Ankeny, 25-16, 25-12, 22-25, 14-25, 15-12, in a Class 5A quarterfinal at the state volleyball tournament Monday afternoon at Xtream Arena.

State volleyball: Cedar Rapids Xavier has a new head coach and a lot of new faces. But the Saints remain a threat in Class 4A.

The Gazette’s Jeff Linder picks the outcomes of all 35 matches at the state volleyball tournament this week at Xtream Arena.

An in-depth look at the six teams in The Gazette’s coverage area that will be competing in the state volleyball tournament this week at Xtream Arena:

State cross country (Class 3A): Washington’s Micah Rees hangs with the front pack for nearly 2 miles, finishes 4th. Mount Vernon-Lisbon girls are runners-up.

Shortly after Mid-Prairie’s Danielle Hostetler was denied her fourth consecutive Class 2A girls’ state cross country championship, schoolmate Emmett Swartzentruber claimed the boys’ title.

In her final day as a Calamus-Wheatland student (she will open-enroll at Tipton on Monday), Noelle Steines pulls away from North Linn’s Meghan Wheatley and wins her third Class 1A state cross country title.