Monday’s best: 5 area Iowa high school volleyball regional matches to watch

Monday marks the beginning of the Iowa high school volleyball postseason, with quarterfinals in Class 3A and first-round matches in Class 2A and Class 1A.

Here are five of the area’s best matchups; all matches Monday begin at 7 p.m.

Waukon (14-17) at Monticello (22-10)

Class 3A Region 5

No. 14 Monticello earned the River Valley Conference North Division regular-season title, then followed up with a second-place finish to traditional power Dyersville Beckman in the RVC North tournament Thursday. Jayden Kuper is the point of emphasis in the Panthers’ attack. The sophomore is third among 3A kill leaders at 4.75 per set, which account for nearly half of the team’s total. Senior setter Mia Jaeger is good for 8.22 assists per set. Senior Berlin Troendle paces Waukon at 3.30 kills per set, with a fine kill efficiency of .315.

Anamosa (15-20) at Vinton-Shellsburg (26-13)

Class 3A Region 6

Since finishing 6-29 in 2017, No. 15 Vinton-Shellsburg has been on a steady incline, and this is the Vikettes’ best season since they went 22-8 in 2008. They won 11 of 13 matches before going 0-2 in the Wamac Conference tournament on Thursday. The Vikettes’ kills are distrirbuted evenly among junior Ashlyn Murray and seniors Brylee Bruce, Ashlie Meyer and Alyssa Griffith, with Bruce and Murray sharing setting duties. Anamosa got off to an 11-4 start, but is just 4-16 since. Still, there’s reason to believe that the Raiders are on the way up with an extremely young roster. The top three attackers (Reise Neuhaus, Carlee Webber and Lola Holub) are sophomores, and top setter Sophie Sander is a freshman.

Benton Community (19-23) at West Marshall (18-15)

Class 3A Region 6

A regional finalist in 4A last year, Benton will try to make a another lengthy run this fall behind a pair of strong hitting threats in junior Piper Nelson (4.13 kills per set) and senior Addison Phillips (2.65). The Bobcats had a strong showing at the Wamac tournament, winning two of three matches. West Marshall earned a three-set win over the Bobcats at the East Marshall tournament (16-21, 21-15, 15-10) Sept. 10, and the rematch has the capability of going long, too. The Trojans tied for second in the Heart of Iowa Conference behind junior hitter Halie Hohnstein (2.41 kills per set, .285 efficiency).

Edgewood-Colesburg (14-19) at Turkey Valley (17-15)

Class 1A Region 6

Turkey Valley shared the Upper Iowa Conference championship with Clayton Ridge, and those are the only two teams in the UIC to enter the postseason on the plus side of .500. The Trojans got to that point with a late-season rush; they have won seven straight matches. Adriana Tiedt leads the offense at 2.21 kills per set, and the top setter is freshman Maici Weber (3.68 assists per set). Tri-Rivers Conference West Division co-runner-up Ed-Co traditionally plays a challenging out-of-league slate, and that might benefit the Vikings on Monday. Junior hitters Marin Gaul and Audrie Helmrichs pace the Vikings, who reached the Tri-Rivers Conference tournament semifinals Saturday.

Maquoketa Valley (9-18) at North Linn (19-10)

Class 1A Region 6

These Tri-Rivers West rivals met Sept. 29, with North Linn winning in a convincing sweep (25-20, 25-13, 25-16). The Lynx program has been ascendant the last two years under Coach Jennifer McNeill. Senior libero Evalyn Robinson ranks eighth in digs in Class 1A, at 5.36 per set. Another senior, Caitlin Benesh spearheads the offense at 2.33 kills per set. North Linn advanced to the bracket play at the Tri-Rivers tournament Saturday, finishing 0-2. Maquoketa Valley did not make the championship bracket, despite winning two of three matches in pool play Thursday. The Wildcats could be a team to watch in the future; freshmen Grace Richter and Lanni Beaman rank 2-3 on the team (behind junior Haley Ronnebaum) in kills.

Monday’s complete area regional schedule

CLASS 3A REGIONAL QUARTERFINALS

(All matches, 7 p.m.)

Region 4

Eagle Grove at Union Community

Forest City at Clear Lake

Hampton-Dumont/CAL at Center Point-Urbana

Garner GHV at Clarion CGD

Region 5

North Fayette Valley at Osage

Crestwood at New Hampton

Oelwein at Dubuque Wahlert

Waukon at Monticello

Region 6

Iowa Falls-Alden at Mount Vernon

Benton Community at West Marshall

Anamosa at Vinton-Shellsburg

South Tama at Roland-Story

Region 7

Monroe PCM at West Liberty

Grinnell at Centervile

Williamsburg at Solon

Chariton at Albia

Region 8

Camanche at Davenport Assumption

Tipton at Fairfield

Washington at Mid-Prairie

Cental Lee at Davis County

CLASS 2A REGIONAL FIRST ROUND

(All matches, 7 p.m.)

Region 5

Postville at South Winneshiek

MFL MarMac at Clayton Ridge

Region 6

East Marshall at Colfax-Mingo

Alburnett at East Buchanan

Region 7

Columbus Community at Cascade

Louisa-Muscatine at Durant

CLASS 1A REGIONAL FIRST ROUND

(All matches, 7 p.m.)

Region 4

Collins-Maxwell at Colo-Nesco

Waterloo Christian at Garwin GMG

HLV at Baxter

East Union at Southeast Warren

Murray at Lamoni

Orient-Macksburg at Earlham

Martensdale-St. Marys at Diagonal

Region 6

Lansing Kee at West Central

Bellevue Marquette at Calamus-Wheatland

Easton Valley at Clinton Prince of Peace

Midland at North Cedar

Elkader Central at Starmont

Maquoketa Valley at North Linn

Edgewood-Colesburg at Turkey Valley

Region 7

Meskwaki at Montezuma

Lone Tree at Central City

Tri-County at Highland

Hillcrest Academy at New London

English Valleys at Iowa Valley

Cedar Valley Christian at Belle Plaine

Lynnville-Sully at BGM

Region 8

Moulton-Udell at Moravia

Twin Cedars at Winfield-Mount Union

Keota at Wapello

Wayne at Fort Madison Holy Trinity

Seymour at Sigourney

Melcher-Dallas at WACO

Mormon Trail at North Mahaska

Comments: jeff.linder@thegazette.com