Prep Volleyball- For the first time in a long time, there will be no teams from the Southeast Iowa Super Conference (SEISC) playing at the state tournament after Holy Trinity Catholic fell in the regional championship; nevertheless, the Crusaders swept up the All-Conference awards for the south division, while Wapello ran the north.
All-SEISC North
Wapello finished atop the north standings, going 8-0 this season. The Arrows are now 24-0 against the North over the last three seasons, yielding another Conference Coach of the Year honor to Kenna Greiner, the third of her career.
Additionally, Mya Wagner, the junior libero for Wapello, took home North Player of the Year and 1st Team libero, as she recorded 639 digs this season, the most not only for the conference but also for the entire Class 1A. The junior also added 29 aces to her stat pad.
Wapello put Mila Jordan, a sophomore, and Kate Lanz, a senior, on the 1st Team for hitters and Taeya Wagner, a freshman, and Annaka Greiner, a junior, on the 1st Team for setters. Jordan led the North in aces and kills, while Lanz finished her career with 130 blocks.
Emmalin Marshall was named 2nd Team Utility Player for the Arrows.
Columbus put three on the 1st Team in Kennedy Woepking (hitter), Daniela Diaz (setter), and Zai Par (utility). Woepking finished the season with 172 kills, Diaz led the north division with 448 assists, and Pai tabbed 193 digs. The Wildcats finished in second in the north division.
Jessica Del Rio was named 2nd Team hitter and Jocelyn Hernandez made the 2nd Team as a libero.
Over on the 2nd Team, Winfield-Mt. Union, in a year befuddled by injury put three on the list. Quin Smith, after missing the first several matches, ended up leading the team with 132 kills on a kill efficiency of 0.132, while notching 36 blocks. Kaelyn Townsley also made it as a hitter with 80 kills and 23 blocks.
The finals senior to make the team was Madisen Kellogg as a setter. She finished second in the division with 422 assists to go along with 29 kills and 46 aces. First year head coach Ashlei Venghaus was emotional when talking about how her team pushed through the adversity,
Yeah, I’m super proud of them. They have battled through a lot of just a lot of injuries, not only with Kynlee [Buffington], and then we had Kelley [Milks] go down with a knee injury two weeks ago, but they were battling injuries themself and just battling every week. I’m really proud of them.”
WACO’s Carlee Lunsford made it on as a 2nd Team hitter with 119 kills to lead the Warriors.
1st Team Selections
Hitters
Mila Jordan* (Wapello), Niva Helmuth (Hillcrest Academy), Kennedy Woepking (Columbus), Taylor Morrison (Louisa-Muscatine), Kate Lanz (Wapello), Paislee Coleman (Pekin)
Setters
Taeya Wagner* (Wapello), Annaka Greiner (Wapello), Daniela Diaz (Columbus)
Libero
Mya Wagner* (Wapello)
Defensive Specialist
Kaylee Nguyen (Louisa-Muscatine)
Utility Player
Zai Par (Columbus)
2nd Team Selections
Hitters
Jessica Del Rio (Columbus), Carlee Lunsford (WACO), Quin Smith (W-MU), Kaelyn Townsley (W-MU), Ruth Wittoft (Hillcrest Academy)
Setters
Madisen Kellogg (W-MU)
Claire Withrow (Hillcrest Academy)
Libero
Jocelyn Hernandez (Columbus)
Defensive Specialist
Emersyn Schultz (Highland)
Utility Players
Emmalin Marshall (Wapello)
Honorable Mentions
Columbus: Hailey Wellington and Mady Payne
Highland: Brena Hazelett and Adisyn Prottsman
Hillcrest Academy: Stavia Miller and Brynna Boshart
Lone Tree: Dalanie Graap
Louisa-Muscatine: Ashlynn Watkins-Schoening and Ella Mullikin
Pekin: Reece Brisby and Carlie Gambell
WACO: Morgan Meyer and Taelyn Egli
Wapello: Macey Kuntz and Erica Gillette
Winfield-Mt. Union: Katie Miller and Kellee Milks
All-SEISC South
Holy Trinity Catholic ruled the south this season as the Crusaders downed Burlington Notre Dame in straight sets to win the conference crown for the second consecutive season. Melissa Freesmeier, with 1,137 career wins under her belt, added another Conference Coach of the Year trophy to the mantle.
Also adding extra hardware was junior hitter Adalyn Kruse as she was named Player of the Year, but this season she got to share the limelight with Presley Myers, as the senior earned her first Conference Player of the Year honor. The pair also were named 1st Team hitters.
The duo combined for over 800 kills, 100 blocks, and nearly 90 aces on the season. Myers will conclude her career at Holy Trinity Catholic with three state tournament appearances, a state runner-up finish, over 1,300 career kills, over 370 blocks, and a career kill efficiency nearly at 0.350. Kruse will be looking for her 1,000th career kill in her senior campaign.
Myers talked about how important this team has been for her this season,
“This is the best team I’ve ever played on. The girls are just amazing. We’re so, so close, you know, inside and outside of volleyball. That’s really what makes us so good is we’re so close. We trust each other, you know. We know how to communicate because we’re so close with one another. Yeah. It’s gonna be really hard leaving the team behind next year.”
Olivia Bendlage (hitter) and Elizabeth Griffin (setter) for Holy Trinity Catholic were place on the 2nd Team.
Burlington Notre Dame put two on the 1st Team as they finished second in the south with a 6-1 mark. Addi Brockway was named 1st Team hitter and Emma Elmore was a 1st Team Utility Player. Brockway finished 3rd in the division with 342 kills, while Elmore finished with 450 digs. Chloe Wenzel was put on as a 2nd Team hitter.
Sophia Jirak (setter) and Ashlynn Huff (hitter) were named to the 1st Team for Van Buren County. Huff tabbed 326 kills on a 0.272 kill efficiency, while Jirak collected 707 assists for the season. Marlee Mertens, a senior hitter, and Lexie Wiley, a senior libero, were put on the 2nd Team.
Central Lee had three players named to the 1st Team in senior hitter Taylor Jones, senior setter Kenna Sandoval, and senior libero Jayden Mueller. Jones roofed 45 attacks and nabbed 213 kills for the season, while Sandoval passed out 555 assists. Mueller led the south in digs with 566.
West Burlington’s lone 1st Team nod was Baylee Woodsmall as a setter. The senior led the south with 794 assists and grabbed 30 aces from the service line in her final season as a Falcon. Kyleigh Applegate (hitter) and Lydia Armstrong (libero) were named to the 2nd Team.
Mediapolis had Maycie Thornburg named to the 1st Team as a defensive specialist. The Bulldog compiled 440 digs to aid the defense. On the 2nd Team was Bryn Wright as a setter, Avery Hollingsworth as a defensive specialist, and Josie Hutcheson slotted in as a utility player.
Lastly, Danville earned two on the 2nd Team. Alivia Bauer was one of two sophomores named as a hitter on the 2nd Team as she finished with the 8th most kills in the south with 218 kills, while nabbing 39 blocks and 23 blocks. Graci Huff made it as a defensive specialist with the senior tabbing 292 digs and 22 aces for the season.
1st Team Selections
Hitters
Presley Myers* (HTC), Adalyn Kruse* (HTC), Addi Brockway* (BND), Ashlynn Huff (VBC), Talor Jones (CL)
Setters
Kenna Sandoval* (CL), Sophia Jirak (VBC), Baylee Woodsmall (WB)
Libero
Jayden Mueller* (CL)
Defensive Specialist
Maycie Thornburg (Mepo)
Utility Player
Emma Elmore (BND)
2nd Team Selections
Hitters
Alivia Bauer (Danville), Olivia Bendlage (HTC), Chloe Wenzel (BND), Kyleigh Applegate (WB), Marlee Mertens (VBC)
Setters
Elizabeth Griffin (HTC), Bryn Wright (Mepo)
Libero
Lexie Wiley (VBC), Lydia Armstrong (WB)
Defensive Specialist
Avery Hollingsworth (Mepo), Graci Huff (Danville)
Utility Player
Josie Hutcheson (Mepo)
Honorable Mentions
Central Lee: Chloee Haig and Brylee Cook
Danville: Brynley Wenig and Marley Garland
Holy Trinity Catholic: Emma Mohrfeld and Calli Kruse
Mediapolis: Ellah Wagenbach and Clara Box
New London: Maison Nelson and Kylea Schwenker
Burlington Notre Dame: Ainsley Conrad and Logan Skerik
Van Buren County: Daphny Wells and Teagan Sickels
West Burlington: Brenna Shafer and Emersyn Hopkins