Postseason Volleyball
In Class 1A Region 2, Wapello was looking to slay another giant of southeast Iowa after defeating Burlington Notre Dame to advance to the Regional Semifinals. #3 Holy Trinity Catholic had other ideas. Led by the duo of Adalyn Kruse and Presley Myers, who each claimed 13 kills, the Crusaders swept the Arrows (25-14, 25-17, and 25-14) to advance to the Regional Championship. Myers has now accumulated 33 kills through the first two games of the postseason as Crusader head coach Melissa Freesmeier talked about her dominance at the net,
“You know she’s swinging well. She’s getting great touches on the block in the front row and she’s, you know, she’s becoming unstoppable. So, I really love the way she goes up there and swings. Her and Anna have a connection and, you know, then you see freshman Olivia Bendlage, who just keeps swinging and doing the little things. And Adalyn Kruse who comes in and, you know, plays great defense. But you know, I was proud of our kids tonight. Just everything. What they were doing and, you know, just getting better and better every game.”
The win also marked coach Freesmeier’s 1,100th career victory, but Freesmeier was quick to humble herself upon passing the milestone,
“Well, you know it means I’ve been around a while, but you know it feels good. But you know, I couldn’t do it without the support of the parents and the community. And you know, we’ve got great kids here who come in and work hard every day and, you know, until I stop loving to come to practice every day, you know, I’m going to be here for a while so, you know that’s a big attribute to the kids that we’ve had going through the system. They’re great kids and you know, they just keep getting good kids all the way down the line.”
Wapello was led by Annaka Greiner’s 21 assists and an ace, while Mila Jordan tallied eight kills followed by Kate Lanz with seven kills. The Arrows ended the season with an 18-12 record.
Holy Trinity Catholic will face off against Calamus-Wheatland for the Regional Championship tomorrow, October 30th, at 7 pm at West Liberty High School. KILJ 105.5 FM, kilj.com, will be on the call with the pregame show at 6:45 pm.
In Class 2A Region 2, Van Buren County saw their season come to an end last night against #2 Eddyville-Blakesburg-Fremont as the Rockets swept the Warriors (25-11, 25-14, 25-14). Van Buren County finished the season with a 20-10 record, their first 20-win season since 2019.
In Region 3, #14 West Burlington punched their ticket to the Regional Championship after defeating Lisbon in four sets (25-21, 26-24, 19-25, and 25-21). Taryn Snodgrass tabbed two aces and dished out 47 assists as Brenna Beggs (two blocks) and Jayonna Hiley each finished with 15 kills. The Falcons will face off against #3 Beckman Catholic tomorrow at 7 pm at Solon High School with the winner advancing to the state tournament.
High School Volleyball Awards
The Southeast Conference (SEC) was controlled by two talented clubs in Washington and Burlington, justly, they dominated the All-Conference list.
For the First Team honorees, the conference champion Demons had Leighton Messinger, Lauren Hinrichsen, and Layla Green make the team. Messinger led the conference in kills with 285 and efficiency with a 0.251 mark, along with being ranked sixth in aces with 35 for the season. These marks led to Messinger taking home SEC Player of the Year honors.
Hinrichsen tabbed 659 assists for the season and Green finished ninth in kills, 176, and fifth in total blocks, 44.
Burlington was led by Annalise Buxton, Gemma Plummer, and Lily Newell. Buxton was second in the conference in kills (283), tenth in efficiency (0.191), eighth in digs (274), and second in aces behind Sydney Schroeder, who tallied 61. Plummer was a force at the net with 180 kills and 58 total blocks, which ranked second in the conference. Lastly, Newell was a top-notch defensive specialist with 384 digs, which led the conference, and helped the offense with 91 assists.
Earning the last spot on the All-SEC First Team was Fairfield’s Lilly Bergren. The senior led the Trojans with 188 kills and a kill efficiency of 0.212.
Mt. Pleasant’s junior attacking duo of Addison Clark and Alex Scott claimed spots on the All-SEC Second Team. The two main attackers for the Panthers each collected over 190 kills, which ranked them in the top five of the SEC. Clark’s 32 blocks was good enough for 7th in the conference, while Scott ranked third in the SEC for aces with 44.
Savannah Slobodnik, 54 kills and a 0.071 kill efficiency, and Kynlee White, 80 kills with 18 blocks, were named to the All-Conference Honorable Mention team.
Postseason Football
WACO was placed in a pod with Iowa Valley, #5 Gladbrook-Reinbeck, and #3 Don Bosco. The Warriors will travel to #3 Don Bosco on Friday, November 1st, at 7 pm. KILJ 105.5 FM, kilj.com, will be on the call with the pregame show at 6:45 pm.
#10 West Burlington/Notre Dame will take on #8 Anamosa on the road on Friday at 7 pm.
Mediapolis will get a district rematch against Mid-Prairie on the road at 7 pm on Friday.
In Class 3A, #5 Mt. Vernon will host Carroll and Assumption will hit to the road to take on #3 Wahlert Catholic with both games scheduled for 7 pm on Friday.
High School Cross Country
The Class 3A state meet is scheduled for Friday, November 1st, in Fort Dodge with both Washington teams and Mt. Pleasant’s Quintrie Lee making the trip.
The Class 1A and Class 2A state meet will run on Saturday, November 2nd.
Southeastern Community College
The volleyball team will host Ellsworth Community College tomorrow, October 30th, at 7 pm for Sophomore Night.
College Football
Iowa will take on Wisconsin on Saturday, November 2nd, at 6:30 pm at home. KILJ 105.5 FM will have the broadcast.
#11 Iowa State will be back in action this Saturday at 2:30 pm at home against Texas Tech. KILJ 98.5 FM and AM 1130 will be on the call.
This Day in Sports History
1989 – Ozzie Newsome ended his NFL streak of 150 consecutive game receptions.
1995 – Jerry Rice of the San Francisco 49ers became the NFL’s career leader in receiving yards with 14,040 yards.
2018 – Golden State shooting guard Klay Thompson breaks the NBA record previously held by teammate Stephen Curry for most 3-pointers in a game with 14 in a Warriors’ 149-124 win over the Bulls in Chicago.
