Two rivals take the court tonight in Wellman with a River Valley Conference volleyball championship on the line when the Mid-Prairie Golden Hawks host the Iowa City Regina Regals.
The Golden Hawks are 24-4 on the year, and atop the River Valley at 3-1. Mid-Prairie has won 14 of their last 15 matches including the tournament title Saturday at New London. The Hawks have climbed to No. 8 in Class 3A in the most recent poll issued by the Iowa Girls High School Athletic Union. This year, the Hawks have 1,313 digs, sixth in Class 3A, 850 kills second in Class 3A, 828 assists, most in Class 3A, 206 aces, most in Class 3A and 156 blocks. Individually, Mid-Prairie is led by junior Dakota Mitchell with 414 digs, third in 3A and 45 aces fourth in 3A, sophomore Jovi Evans with 439 assists and 236 kills and junior Callie Huber with 53 blocks.
Iowa City Regina enters looking to spoil the party and keep themselves alive for a share of the crown. The Regals are 19-8 this season and 4-2 in league play. They have been off since a non-conference loss to Lisbon in a full five sets September 26th. Regina is ranked No. 13 in the latest class 2A poll from the IGHSAU. The Regals have 1,257 digs, fifth in Class 2A, 856 kills, eighth in Class 2A, 810 assists, seventh in 2A, 139 aces and 94 blocks. Individual leaders include senior Sydney Wagner with 810 assists, second in Class 2A, sophomore Reese Naeve with 422 kills, second most in 2A, 288 digs, and 45 aces, seventh in 2A, and sophomore Kiley Devery with 29 blocks. This week, Golden Hawk head coach Sherry Evans talked about the keys to a win for the Hawks and what a league championship would mean to her team and program. She said, “Regina has a really good outside hitter, Reese Naeve, she’s a heavy arm and does a good job placing the ball. Sometimes they put Kiley Devery out on the pin, sometimes she plays middle. She throws up a good block. Their setter is pretty good too and defensively, they pick up a lot of balls. We have to find the holes in their defense and play our game, play fast, and get our serves in. For our program, this is a big deal. It’s always a goal for a coach, and their players (to win a championship). It would be super exciting to take that title this year and keep moving up!”
These teams met September 9th at the Iowa City West Tournament with the Golden Hawks winning two of three sets. Mid-Prairie has won four straight in the series. A win gives the Hawks the RVC Championship outright. A Regal victory earns Regina, West Liberty and Wilton a share of the gold. Mid-Prairie has not won a conference title since an Eastern Iowa Hawkeye Conference crown in 2003. Action gets underway tonight at 7:15p.m. at Mid-Prairie High School.