Iowa high school state volleyball 2021: Monday’s scores, stats and more

The 2021 Iowa high school state volleyball tournament began Monday with quarterfinal matches in Class 5A and Class 4A on two courts at Alliant Energy PowerHouse in Cedar Rapids.

Find scores, stats, photos and complete coverage from Monday’s matches here.

State volleyball coverage

» Iowa City West’s 2011 ‘Miracle Season’ was even more dramatic than Hollywood portrayed

» Brackets: 2021 pairings, schedule, updated scores for all 5 classes

» Predictions: Our round-by-round state volleyball picks for all 5 classes

» Class 5A: Johnston outlasts No. 1 Iowa City Liberty in stunner

» Class 5A: Cedar Falls takes tense 3rd set, completes sweep of Dowling

» Class 5A: Pleasant Valley finds state volleyball footing, beats Ankeny Centennial

» Class 5A: Ankeny keeps ‘rowing the boat’ to beat Urbandale

» Class 4A: Western Dubuque takes care of business in Round 1

» Class 4A: North Scott finally gets to enjoy a trip to Cedar Rapids

» Class 4A: Waverly-Shell Rock overcomes big arm of Oskaloosa’s Faith DeRonde

» Class 4A: Final momentum swing goes Marion’s way in 5-set triumph over Xavier

» Capsules: A closer look at the 10 Gazette area qualifiers

» Where to eat, what to do in downtown Cedar Rapids

Monday’s state volleyball scores

CLASS 5A QUARTERFINALS

No. 10 Johnston 3, No. 1 Iowa City Liberty 2 (25-21, 17-25, 17-25, 26-24, 16-14)

The butterflies never really went away.

And neither did the Dragons.

Tenth-ranked Johnston overcame two match points in the fourth set, erased a 12-10 deficit in the fifth and shocked No. 1 Iowa City Liberty, 25-21, 17-25, 17-25, 26-24, 16-14, in a Class 5A quarterfinal at the state volleyball tournament Monday afternoon at the Alliant Energy PowerHouse.

“I still haven’t processed it yet,” senior Dasha Svitashev said. “There was a lot of screaming in the locker room. I couldn’t hear anything.”

Johnston (28-11) is making its first state appearance in six years. It won’t be one-and-done.

— Jeff Linder

» Full story | Photos | Box score | Watch replay

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No. 2 Pleasant Valley 3, No. 7 Ankeny Centennial 1 (25-16, 19-25, 25-20, 25-12)

Neither team looked comfortable.

For the first two sets of Monday's Class 5A quarterfinal between No. 2 Pleasant Valley and No. 7 Ankeny Centennial, it looked like nerves were winning out.

“I always think there are a lot of nerves going into the first state (match),” said Pleasant Valley junior Halle Vice.

Or, as Spartans Coach Amber Hall said, “It does take awhile to get acclimated into the big stage.”

After splitting the first two sets with Ankeny Centennial, the Spartans found their footing in the next two. With Vice leading the way at the net and senior setter Kora Ruff running the show, the Spartans went on to post a 25-16, 19-25, 25-20, 25-12 victory.

— Mike Condon

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No. 4 Cedar Falls 3, No. 5 West Des Moines Dowling 0 (25-22, 25-18, 30-28)

In volleyball, momentum can change on a dime. Once you lose it, there’s no guarantee you’ll get it back.

So with the third set going back and forth, the Cedar Falls Tigers didn’t want to leave anything to chance.

“We were all on our toes a little bit,” Tigers setter Nohea Mahi said. “We really wanted to get it done in three.”

Fourth-ranked Cedar Falls fought off two West Des Moines Dowling set points in Game 3 and polished off the No. 5 Maroons, 25-22, 25-18, 30-28, in a Class 5A quarterfinal at the state volleyball tournament Monday afternoon at the Alliant Energy PowerHouse.

“We knew they were going to battle us with their season on the line,” said Cedar Falls hitter Katie Remmert, who led all attackers with 16 kills. “But we were able to get it done.”

— Jeff Linder

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No. 3 Ankeny 3, No. 6 Urbandale 2 (25-23, 23-25, 14-25, 25-22, 15-12)

Dave Whims evoked the words of University of Minnesota football Coach P.J. Fleck.

After Whims saw his Ankeny team fall behind CIML rival Urbandale 2-1 in Monday's Class 5A state volleyball quarterfinal match at the Alliant Energy PowerHouse, he had this message between sets three and four.

“Hey, I talked to them about Rowing the Boat,” he said. “I told them they just had to keep rowing, keep going and things will turn around. We knew everything (Urbandale) was going to do when they get the ball, we read it, we get in position and we dig it.”

The defending champions responded. They built sizable leads in each of the final two sets, then had to hold off late charges from the J-Hawks. It resulted in a 25-23, 23-25, 14-25, 23-25, 15-12 victory.

Monday's match featured two of the top hitters in the state in Ankeny's Ava Reynolds and Urbandale's Lily Dykstra. Neither disappointed the fans. Reynolds, a senior who will play next year at the University of Denver, finished with 27 kills and 14 digs.

Dykstra, a junior, pounded home 30 kills and had five ace serves.

— Mike Condon

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CLASS 4A QUARTERFINALS

No. 1 Western Dubuque 3, Sioux City Heelan 0 (25-22, 25-13, 25-16)

Their team running roughshod in a second-set surge, Western Dubuque students began one chant:

“IT’S too EA-sy.”

Then, a bit later, another:

“THIS is BOR-ing.”

Here’s the thing: There’s nothing boring about excellence. And Western Dubuque had a long stretch of greatness Monday afternoon.

The top-ranked Bobcats advanced to the Class 4A semifinals for the third consecutive year, sweeping Sioux City Heelan, 25-22, 25-13, 25-16 at the Alliant Energy PowerHouse.

“Ever since we came here my freshman year to watch, we told each other we wanted to win one of these,” setter Madison Maahs said. “I have a good feeling about this year.”

— Jeff Linder

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No. 2 North Scott 3, No. 8 Bondurant-Farrar 0 (25-21, 25-16, 25-20)

The state volleyball tournament experience has not been a great one over the past couple of years for North Scott.

Coach Taryn VanEarwage's team was bounced in the first round in 2019 and 2020.

On top of that, the Lancers' top offensive threat, Ella McLaughlin, has had her own share of misfortune.

She missed last year's tournament due to COVID-19 and it looked like a right-hand injury, suffered in practice leading up to this year's tournament, might have her out again.

In what was called a “game-time decision” by VanEarwage, McLaughlin not only took the court for the Lancers' Class 4A quarterfinal against Bondurant-Farrar with her hand heavily wrapped, she didn't miss a beat.

The 5-foot-11 senior had a team-high 10 kills as No. 2 North Scott rolled to a 25-21, 25-16, 25-20 win.

— Mike Condon

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No. 3 Waverly-Shell Rock 3, No. 6 Oskaloosa 2 (23-25, 28-26, 21-25, 25-15, 15-12)

Not even a record-setting performance from Oskaloosa's Faith DeRonde could deny Waverly-Shell Rock.

DeRonde had a Class 4A state-tournament-record 40 kills, but it wasn't enough to push the Indians to victory as No. 3 Waverly Shell-Rock prevailed 23-25, 28-26, 21-25, 25-15, 15-12 in a Class 4A quarterfinal Monday night at the Alliant Energy PowerHouse.

Monday's match was a battle between DeRonde and the balanced Go-Hawks offense.

According to WSR junior Averi Weichers, the balance ended up being the difference.

"This match was absolutely crazy," she said. "You had to keep your head in it all the time because you had to be ready anytime you had it come to you."

— Mike Condon

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No. 5 Marion 3, No. 4 Cedar Rapids Xavier 2 (25-27, 25-13, 15-25, 25-19, 15-9)

As the match veered toward a fifth set, Coach Roxanne Paulsen wasn’t the only vocal one in the Marion huddle.

As Paulsen talked strategy, several of the Wolves screamed incentive:

“We’re not done! We’re not done!”

They’re not done.

The fifth-ranked Wolves led the final set from start to finish and outlasted No. 4 Cedar Rapids Xavier, 25-27, 25-13, 15-25, 25-19, 15-9, in a Class 4A quarterfinal at the state volleyball tournament Monday night at the Alliant Energy PowerHouse.

“It’s just belief,” senior Elise Mehaffy said. “We’ve been preparing for this. We’ve played them multiple times.

“This was amazing.”

The Wolves (37-8) reversed the outcome of their two regular-season encounters and ended Xavier’s title reign.

— Jeff Linder

» Full story | Photos | Box score | Watch replay

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