The Mid-Prairie Golden Hawk volleyball team is ready for the regional tournament tonight when they host Saydel in the quarterfinal round of the 3A playoffs. The Golden Hawks enter play at 29-10 overall on the season, finishing as co-Champions of the River Valley Conference South Division. They were last in action Thursday at the River Valley Conference Championship Tournament at Northeast Goose Lake High School where they dropped a match to Monticello and came back to beat Bellevue. The Golden Hawks are ranked No. 12 in the final Class 3A poll of the year issued by the Iowa Girls High School Athletic Union. This year Mid-Prairie has piled up 1,875 digs, most in 3A, 1,175 kills, second in 3A, 1,150 assists, second in 3A, 252 aces, most in 3A and 210 blocks. Individually, the top Hawks are sophomore Jovi Evans with 601 assists, 341 kills, ninth in 3A and 55 aces, fifth in 3A, junior Dakota Mitchell with 587 digs, most in 3A and junior Callie Huber with 68 blocks.

Saydel is 2-20 this year, they finished winless in the Heart of Iowa Conference. They played at West Marshall Thursday and were swept in three sets. This year the Eagles have 178 digs, 154 kills, 146 assists, 104 blocks and 43 aces. Their total number of digs, kills, assists and aces are all lowest in Class 3A. Individual leaders include senior Dakoda Wright with 85 digs, sophomore Ryleigh Sevedge with 55 assists, senior Mya Helm with 32 blocks, junior Olivia Pecina with 22 kills, and junior Rachel McLaughlin with 11 aces. This week, Mid-Prairie head coach Sherry Evans talked with KCII Sports about the Hawk’s keys in the playoffs. Evans said, “I think it’s our whole team, how they compliment one another. Whether it’s serve receive with Dakota (Mitchell) and Lanee (Duwa) digging balls in the back row. Jovi (Evans) or Avery (Helmuth) putting up a good set for those hitters to put stuff away. Callie Huber always does a good job for us in the middle. Paige Safly, lately, if we need to get the kill, we get her the ball. Katelyn Harland too, we have been moving her from middle to a pin hitter. Going back and forth, they are such different looks, but she is so versatile that we can do that with her. We need to serve well, communicate, be scrappy and play our game.”

These two programs have never met. The winner of this match advances to Thursday’s 3A Regional Semifinals against the winner of Prairie City Monroe and Chariton. Action between the Golden Hawks and Eagles starts at 7p.m. tonight at Tim Grady Gymnasium in Wellman.