Photo Courtesy of Mid-Prairie Volleyball Social Media

Golden Hawk libero Dakota Mitchell hit a big milestone in her Mid-Prairie volleyball career this month. The Mid-Prairie sophomore reached the 1,000 dig mark in just her second season for the black and gold. The big moment came October 15th in a match at the Knoxville tournament where the Golden Hawks took down state ranked Union, La Porte City, behind Mitchell’s 16 dig performance.

She recorded her first dig in her first ever match, starting as a freshman in Mid-Prairie’s season opener on August 23rd, 2021 at the Keota tournament against the Eagles on their home floor. She would record 12 digs in the win. Her career high in digs came just over a week later against West Branch, September 2nd, where she put together a defensive master class with 29. Mitchell finished her freshman season at Mid-Prairie with 463 digs, seventh most in Class 3A, and the top number recorded by any freshman in 2021. She led the Hawks in digs 19 times her first year in the program, helping Mid-Prairie to a 16-14 record.

In her sophomore season, Mitchell reached the midway point to 1,000 during a 10 dig performance in a win against Pekin at the Central Lee tournament August 27th. She matched her career high with 29 digs in a loss to state ranked West Liberty on the road September 8th of 2022. The Golden Hawk libero has led the Mid-Prairie defense in digs 34 times in 2022 out of their 38 total matches, helping the Hawks to a 27-11 record. Her 614 digs this season place her third in Class 3A, and are the top number recorded by any sophomore. Mitchell spoke this week with KCII Sports about the accomplishment, the keys to her position and this season for Mid-Prairie. “My job is basically directing the back row. I’ve been playing libero since I started club, 10-U I think. I just try to get everywhere I can. Cover every ball I can. Not let the ball touch the ground, try to hustle everywhere. This is really exciting. This year, we are playing really well together. That match was so fun, my teammates were all there for me.”

The No. 11 ranked Golden Hawks face No. 2 Davenport Assumption on the road Tuesday, with a bid to the Class 3A State Tournament at Xstream Arena in Coralville on the line. The Hawks have not qualified for state since 2004. Action gets underway Tuesday at 7p.m. in the Quad Cities.