Thursday’s best: 5 area Iowa high school volleyball regional matches to watch (Oct. 19, 2023)

It took some time, as you would expect.

But Cedar Rapids Prairie has begun to click under first-year head coach Claude Howard.

The Hawks have surged over .500 under Howard, who came to Prairie from Springville (he won nearly 300 matches there and was a state-tournament regular).

They’ll play at 10th-ranked Dubuque Senior in a Class 5A regional semifinal Thursday night.

Here are five of Thursday’s best area regional matches:

Cedar Rapids Prairie (18-17) at No. 10 Dubuque Senior (24-11)

Class 5A Region 5

Prairie has caught some wind in its sail in the second half of the season; the Hawks have won 11 of their last 14 matches to climb over .500. Now, they’ll try to avenge a four-set loss to the Rams from Sept. 12. Carly Wazac leads the team in hitting at 2.76 kills per set and is hitting at a .291 clip. Senior has been on a steady decade-long incline and has two attackers — Brooke Sullivan and Cambel Drapeau — over the 200-kill plateau. The victor is likely to play at No. 4 Pleasant Valley in a regional final Tuesday.

Muscatine (23-10) at No. 11 Iowa City High (22-9)

Class 5A Region 6

In mid-September, City High was 5-5. But the Little Hawks have won 17 of their last 21 matches and are a viable threat to make their way to Xtream Arena. Their postseason opener won’t be a snap, though; Muscatine was the third-place team in the Mississippi Athletic Conference and has a fine attacker in outside Brylee Seaman (3.71 kills per set, .392 kill rate). City counters with the duo of senior Claire Ernst and junior Emmy McComas. The winner probably will play at No. 8 West Des Moines Valley in a regional final.

Western Dubuque (15-18) at No. 7 Marion (24-12)

Class 4A Region 7

Both of these teams have been state-tournament regulars lately; Marion has qualified three of the last four years, Western Dubuque is on a streak of four in a row (including the 2021 4A title). In its most recent competition, Marion reached the final of the Wamac Conference tournament. The Wolves ride the strong swing of senior Michaela Goad (3.87 kills per set). Sophia Paulsen and Natalee Hartman also started on the Wolves’ 2022 state squad. Western Dubuque swept Maquoketa in the first round behind Ally Reuter’s 14 kills.

No. 14 Monticello (23-9) at No. 10 West Delaware (25-14)

Class 3A Region 5

The four remaining teams in 3A Region 5 are a balanced bunch (No. 8 Union Community and Roland-Story are in the other semifinal), and any of the four could work their way to Coralville. Despite the close proximity of Monticello and Manchester, this is the teams’ first meeting since 2018. Both teams advanced with first-round sweeps. Monticello boasts one of the state’s most prolific hitters in junior Jayden Kuper (5.18 kills per set), while West Delaware counters with Brooke Krogmann (3.05), also a junior.

No. 11 West Liberty (32-11) at Anamosa (27-9)

Class 3A Region 7

The winner of this match is the likely regional-final opponent to No. 1 Mount Vernon. West Liberty has four starters back from last year’s state-tournament squad, including junior Sophie Buysse (3.06 kills per set, 2.97 efficiency). The Comets always are steady in the back row, and Gaby Morales averages 5.48 digs per set. Anamosa is in the midst of, perhaps, its best season in school history, and with four juniors in the starting lineup (including top hitters Reise Neuhaus and Lola Holub), the Blue Raiders’ best days may be yet to come.

Thursday’s complete area schedule

CLASS 5A REGIONAL SEMIFINALS

(All matches 7 p.m.)

Region 1

Des Moines Lincoln (7-22) at No. 1 West Des Moines Dowling (28-7)

Southeast Polk (14-21) at Linn-Mar (18-13)

Region 2

Iowa City West (9-24) at No. 2 Ankeny Centennial (28-6)

Sioux City West (14-11) at No. 15 Council Bluffs Abraham Lincoln (21-19)

Region 5

Davenport North (12-22) at No. 3 Pleasant Valley (25-5)

Cedar Rapids Prairie (18-17) at No. 12 Dubuque Senior (24-11)

Region 6

Cedar Rapids Washington (10-23) at No. 8 West Des Moines Valley (17-15)

Muscatine (23-10) at No. 11 Iowa City High (22-9)

Region 8

Urbandale (10-21) at No. 7 Ankeny (22-14)

Ottumwa (27-8) at No. 14 Iowa City Liberty (18-21)

CLASS 4A REGIONAL SEMIFINALS

(All matches 7 p.m.)

Region 5

Decorah (14-17) at No. 3 Cedar Rapids Xavier (22-6)

Waverly-Shell Rock (16-26) at Charles City (29-6)

Region 7

Western Dubuque (15-18) at No. 7 Marion (24-12)

Pella (21-19) at No. 14 Ballard (21-8)

Region 8

Keokuk (11-15) at No. 1 Clear Creek Amana (43-0)

Burlington (18-22) at Oskaloosa (15-16)

CLASS 3A REGIONAL SEMIFINALS

(All matches 7 p.m.)

Region 4

Osage (19-16) at No. 6 New Hampton (30-5)

North Fayette Valley (13-9) at No. 9 Dubuque Wahlert (16-12)

Region 5

Roland-Story (25-11) at No. 8 Union Community (36-11)

No. 14 Monticello (23-9) at No. 10 West Delaware (25-14)

Region 6

Monroe PCM (18-13) at No. 12 Mid-Prairie (30-10)

Albia (20-14) at No. 7 Center Point-Urbana (25-9)

Region 7

Benton Community (14-23) at No. 1 Mount Vernon (31-4)

No. 11 West Liberty (32-11) at Anamosa (27-9)

Region 8

Fairfield (20-11) at No. 4 Davenport Assumption (25-7)

Tipton (19-17) at No. 13 Solon (21-14)

Comments: jeff.linder@thegazette.com