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.

Mt. Pleasant, IA- All members of the Southeast Conference (SEC) have been eliminated from postseason competition, leading to the release of the All-SEC Volleyball teams. Washington and Burlington finished atop the standings and yielded three First Team honorees.

Washington

The Demons finished the season as the conference champions after going perfect in the SEC tournament. Washington, who finished with an 18-16 record, was led by First-Team members: junior Leighton Messinger, senior Lauren Hinrichsen, and sophomore Layla Green.

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.

Ella Greiner earned a spot on the Second-Team, while Taylor Miksch and Ellie Farmer were All-SEC Honorable Mentions.

Burlington

With a mirrored record to Washington, going perfect in SEC play during the regular season but falling in the tournament, the Grayhounds finished the season with a 31-12 record, their most wins in more than a decade.

A big reason for their success was senior Annalise Buxton, sophomore Gemma Plummer, and junior 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.

Sophia Young and Schroeder were named to the Second Team, while Sela Rascon, who led the conference in assists, and Daphne Brown were Honorable Mentions.

Fairfield

Congruent 3-2 SEC regular season and conference records cement the Trojans in third place for the conference standings after notching a 17-20 record. Lilly Bergren was the lone SEC First Teamer for the squad.

Bergren led her team with 188 kills to go along with a 0.212 kill efficiency. The multi-took player also grabbed 241 digs and 12 aces.

Faith Jones, who was third in the conference in assists, claimed a spot on the Second Team. Isabel McCready and Claire Thompson were named SEC Honorable Mentions.

Mt. Pleasant

The Panthers earned wins over Fort Madison and Keokuk to secure fourth place in the conference, touting a final record of 12-26. The junior 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 7^th 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.

Fort Madison

The Bloodhounds picked up a win over Keokuk in the conference tournament to place above Chiefs with a 7-26 overall record.

Dayonna Davis made the All-Conference Second Team as she drove home 199 kills, third in the conference, and served up 22 aces for the Bloodhounds.

Sydney McEntee and Kylie Lumino were Honorable Mentions.

Keokuk

The Chiefs won an SEC matchup during the regular season matchup against Mt. Pleasant to grab their lone conference win of the season, finishing 3-21.

Kendra Boatman, who finished the season ranked sixth in the conference in assists, and Kylie Sisk, who tabbed 302 digs the fourth best mark in the SEC, were named to the All-Conference Honorable Mention team.

A bit of a surprise was the absence of senior Camryn Atterberg from the lists, as the senior led the conference in blocks with 72, ranked 12^th in kills with 149, and notched 16 aces.

Academic All-Conference

Burlington:

Savannah Lambert

Daphne Brown

Sydney Schroeder

Lily Newell

Annalise Buxton

Keokuk

Camryn Atterberg

Brylee Balentine

Kendra Boatman

Jaylah Gardner

Kyndra Ryland

Irelynn Seay

Kylie Sisk

Addison Spicer

Layonna Stewart

Gracie Thompson

Fairfield

Lily Bergren

Jolie Crile

Olivia Hollander

Faith Jones

Iris Lane

Grace Lyon

Lauren Martin

Maddy Martin

Isabel McCready

Emmelia Miller

Claire Thompson

Elyse Setterstrom

Mallory Wigle

Fort Madison

Brylie Lorence

Olivia Buckner

Dacee Marshall

Maleena Bentley

Dayonna Davis

Addison Dean

Jayce Fullenkamp

Mackenzie Huebner

Alyssa Rife

Mara Smith

Washington

Lily Brown

Leighton Messinger

Taylor Miksch

Addison Miller

Carys Miller

Ella Greiner

Lauren Hinrichsen

Maya Murphy

Claire Robinson

Isabella Salazar

Rachel Sands

Jade Sheetz

Ruby Witthoft

Mt. Pleasant

Addison Clark

Kate Musselman

Alex Scott

Myah Starr

Macy Jones

Addison Peck

Sonya Simon

Postseason Volleyball

In Class 1A Region 2, Holy Trinity Catholic will host Wapello tonight at 7 pm for the Regional Semifinal. 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 will travel to face off against #2 Eddyville-Blakesburg-Fremont at 7 pm tonight.

In Region 3, #14 West Burlington will compete against Lisbon at home tonight at 7 pm. 

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. WACO head coach Chad Edeker talked about what his team will work on heading into this week’s matchup,

“The biggest thing we’re going to do is stay healthy. You know we’re dinged up just like everybody else this time of year. You know we’ll go hard Tuesday and Wednesday, but I mean won’t be super hard. We won’t. We won’t go anything great. Stay healthy and try to match up…we’ll get to go to their place again, so we’ve been road warriors all year and we’ll continue to do it.”

#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 went undefeated at their own Triangular over the weekend, not dropping a set against Black Hawk College (25-21, 25-13, 25-19) and Wilbur Wright College (25-3, 25-8, 25-8). Over the two games, Avaiana West led the team with 22 kills, while Maddie Jones tabbed 57 assists and Taryn Havener tallied 16 kills. The Blackhawks will host Ellsworth Community College on Wednesday, October 30th, at 7 pm for Sophomore Night. 

College Football

Iowa’s rushing attack planted Northwestern over the weekend to the tune of 203 yards in a dominating homecoming victory, 40-14. Kaleb Johnson tabbed his sixth 100-plus yard rushing game of the season as he found the endzone three times in the matchup. The Hawkeyes 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. KILJ 98.5 FM and AM 1130 will be on the call. 

This Day in Sports History

1890 – “World Championship” Baseball Series, Washington Park, NY: the Louisville Colonels beat the Brooklyn Bridegrooms 6-2 in Game 7 to tie the series 3-3-1; the deciding game was never played.

1934 – The Brooklyn Dodgers and the Pittsburgh Pirates play first of only four penalty free games in NFL history; Dodgers win 21-3 at Ebbets Field, Brooklyn.

1997 – The NBA announces the hiring of Dee Kantner and Violet Palmer as the first women to officiate a major-league all-male sports league.

Postseason Football: The Iowa High School Athletic Association (IHSAA) released the playoff matchups for Classes 5A, 4A, and 3A, while the second-round pods have been announced for Classes 2A, 1A, A, and 8-Player. Here’s a look at our local teams.

Class 3A

District champion #5 Mt. Vernon will get to host Carroll for their first-round game in Pod D with Harlan Community facing off against Algona. Assumption, despite starting 0-4, claimed the runner-up spot in District 4. The Knights will travel to Wahlert Catholic for Pod C with Williamsburg hitting the road to compete against Independence.

Class 2A

Pod B will feature a district rematch as Mediapolis pulled off the upset against Northeast in the first round, they have been awarded a road game against Mid-Prairie. In a defensive showdown, the Golden Hawks defeated the Bulldogs 24-8.

After another dominant performance by Quincy Collins in #10 West Burlington/Notre Dame’s first-round victory against Centerville, the Falcons will have to fly to Anamosa for their Pod D placement. West Marshall and Van Meter are the other squads in the pod.

Class A

Pekin eked out a win last night to advance to the second round. #8 Panthers will be tasked with a road matchup against Madrid in Pod D. Bellevue, who defeated Danville, will take on the vaunted #4 Lisbon Lions in a road matchup.

8-Player

Iowa Valley and WACO, district 6 champion and runner-up, could face a possible rematch this time with a trip to the UNI-Dome on the line; however, they will both have to win road matchups to get there.

WACO will get a rematch against #3 Don Bosco as the Dons knocked the Warriors out of the postseason a season ago in the second round. KILJ 105.5 FM, kilj.com, will be on the call with the pregame show at 6:45 pm, kickoff at 7 pm.

The Warriors were unstoppable on the ground last night with 283 rushing yards and keeping Central City to under 100 rushing yards.

Don Bosco ran up the score against Springville, winning 66-19.

Iowa Valley was on the brink of a first-round collapse, trailing Southeast Warren at different junctions of the contest. Ultimately, the Tigers outscored Southeast Warren 20-8 to win 64-48.

Iowa Valley will now take on #5 Gladbrook-Reinbeck as they defeated Kee 62-30 in their first-round matchup.

More Information

For all matchups and first-round scores, follow this link: IHSAA Playoffs