Tri-State Tourney (IA, IL, WI) Recap – Top 10 Small Schools
I’ve said this before, but I am extremely fortunate to be able to cover volleyball across multiple state lines. Over the past two weeks I was able to see state tournaments from Iowa, Wisconsin, and Illinois. Each state has their…
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Continue ReadingI’ve said this before, but I am extremely fortunate to be able to cover volleyball across multiple state lines. Over the past two weeks I was able to see state tournaments from Iowa, Wisconsin, and Illinois. Each state has their own quirks to their own tournament which I’ll save for another day, but here is a quick look at the division states and their divisions.
Illinois: Four teams in each with Class 4A (largest class), 3A, 2A, and 1A. Teams play at the state tournament at Illinois State University in Redbird Arena. Semifinals are on Friday while the the 3rd place consolation matches and championships are on Saturday. A total of 16 teams qualify.
Iowa: Five classes with eight teams who qualify in each class with Class 5A (largest class), Class 4A, Class 3A, Class 2A, and Class 1A. 40 teams get to play at the state tournament where Thursday is a full day of championship matches, where there are little to no conflicts with other post season sports. 40 Teams total compete at the Alliant Energy PowerHouse Arena (formerly known as US Cellular Center formerly known as Five Seasons Center)
Wisconsin: There are four divisions with the largest school division (D1) has eight teams while D2, D3, and D4 have four teams. D1 plays Thursday in the quarterfinals, and everyone plays the semifinals Friday and Saturday. Wisconsin has also combined their boys state tournament with their girls state tournament at the Resch Center in Green Bay across from Lambeau Field. There are 20 girls teams total.
Let’s talk about the top ten small schools. For those reading, we all have a concept of what a small school is. A little context, I grew up in rural Iowa and I thought I went to a relatively big high school. We were the biggest in our conference, we were in the third largest out of four classes and I honestly didn’t know any different. How many students did my school have? 450. By no means a large school compared to the schools in Illinois where 450 in their graduating class might be the normal.
For this particular article we are putting the cutoff of small schools at less than 700 students.
Jordan Heatherly Jordan Heatherly 5'10" | S Montini Catholic | 2023 State #89 Nation IL with such a heavy swing from the right side. Gets the kill and will set from the backrow. @MontiniVB pic.twitter.com/VMUCDx2kTE
— Chris Fitzgerald (@PrepDigChris) November 13, 2021
@MontiniCatholic @MontiniVB holds off a really scrappy Pleasant Plains team to win the Class 2A @IHSAState #ihsa state championship pic.twitter.com/8HGGGvLXqt
— Chris Fitzgerald (@PrepDigChris) November 13, 2021
Monitni Catholic – Lombard, IL (Class 2A – State Champion)
Enrollment – 526
The team place with a lot of pace and has weapons everywhere on the court. Some notable commits would be Paige Pickering Paige Pickering OH Montini Catholic | 2022 State IL (Cincinnati) and Reeghan Boyer Reeghan Boyer 5'5" | DS/L Montini Catholic | 2022 State IL (Western Michigan). Pickering is a really dynamic and physical outside hitter who can do it all and contribute anywhere on the court. Boyer is so steady and solid, she gets everything in system. Jordan Heatherly Jordan Heatherly 5'10" | S Montini Catholic | 2023 State #89 Nation IL is a Class of 2023 setter/right side combo player who does so many positive things for this team. She swings a heavy ball from the right side and puts it on point for her attackers. Another attacker who an unsigned Senior is Maddie Kasallis Maddie Kasallis 6'0" | MB Montini Catholic | 2022 State IL who scores a lot of points connecting with Heatherly. When Pickering goes to the backrow, Arianna Joubert comes to the front row where she can be terminal from the left side.
Payton Peterson of Dike-New Hartford, one of the top all around players in the state….in any class pic.twitter.com/6cSQDXyHwM
— Chris Fitzgerald (@PrepDigChris) November 2, 2021
Dike-New Hartford – Dike, IA (Class 2A – State Champion)
Enrollment – 271
This is just a small community that is just outside of Cedar Falls. Dike is a powerhouse in Iowa volleyball across all classes. They had a record this year of 54-1, bringing home another state title, not dropping a set in the post season. They recorded wins this season over big school powers such as Iowa City Liberty, Cedar Falls, West Des Moines Dowling, St. James Academy, and Pleasant Valley. Their headliners are the Petersen Twins with Payton Petersen and Jayden Petersen. They are the daughters to Northern Iowa head coach, Bobbi Petersen. They also have one of the top setters out of Iowa’s Class of 2023 in Madelyn Norton Madelyn Norton 5'8" | S Dike-New Hartford | 2023 State IA . What separates this team from the rest is their rock solid ball control. They are always in system and when you have one of the top sophomores in the nation with Payton Petersen there is always an outlet to score.
BACK BACK BACK AGAIN
Howards Grove has won their third straight D3 state championship pic.twitter.com/Qh1QVoGeev
— Chris Fitzgerald (@PrepDigChris) November 6, 2021
Howards Grove – Howards Grove, WI (D3 – State Champion)
Enrollment – 276
Howards Grove won their third straight state title in Wisconsin. Howards Grove is in Sheboygan County (Think 2021 Ryder Cup) where they are in between Green Bay and Milwaukee, not too far from Lake Michigan. This team is full of athletes who are 5’9 or shorter, but they just don’t let the ball hit the floor. They have two division one liberos on the outside with Karissa Kaminski Karissa Kaminski 5'9" | DS/L Howards Grove | 2022 State #166 Nation WI (Dayton) and Saige Damrow Saige Damrow 5'8" | DS/L Howards Grove | 2023 State #17 Nation WI (Wisconsin) and a setter in Emma Baierl Emma Baierl 5'8" | S Howards Grove | 2022 State WI (Truman State). They base their game on aggressive service pressure, ball control and a high IQ. They defeated some of the top teams in Wisconsin such as DSHA and D1 state champion Oconomowoc. They know how to play and beat teams with plenty of power.
After dropping the first set, @stmvolleyball comes back to win the next two to claim the Class 1A State Title. @IHSAState @IHSA_IL pic.twitter.com/9KfjHXVtTl
— Chris Fitzgerald (@PrepDigChris) November 13, 2021
St. Thomas More – Champaign, IL (Class 1A – State Champion)
Enrollment – 257
The Class 1A state champions in Illinois seniors on their squad who will be on Division 1 courts next fall. Setter, Caroline Kerr Caroline Kerr 5'11" | S St. Thomas More | 2022 State #75 Nation IL runs the show and is a physical presence all the way around, she has committed to Tennessee. Anna McClure Anna McClure 5'8" | DS/L St. Thomas More | 2022 State #182 Nation IL is a spark for this squad who is a high flying left handed right side, but her future at the collegiate level will be as a DS/libero where she will head to Ohio State. Colleen Hege Colleen Hege 5'6" | DS/L St. Thomas More | 2022 State IL is a steady and dependable libero who made some huge plays in their state championship match, she is heading to UIC. Many of these athletes play for Illini Elite and some head into Lafayette, IN or Indianapolis for club. This is a power program that is extremely disciplined.
Two future @gbphoenixvb commits that have been quite the duo for a couple years. Emma Johnson Emma Johnson 5'10" | S Luxemburg-Casco | 2022 State WI to Grace Holshuh @LCSpartanvball 12
Reedsburg 7 pic.twitter.com/KRJQ89jQFa— Chris Fitzgerald (@PrepDigChris) November 5, 2021
Luxemburg-Casco – Luxemburg, WI (D2 – State Champion)
Enrollment – 603
Another back to back to back state champion from Wisconsin. Luxemburg-Casco is a 20 minute drive East of Green Bay and have caught fire with volleyball success at the state level in the past five years. The Spartans are led by two Division 1 commits who will be future teammates at Green Bay in outside hitter Grace Holschuh Grace Holschuh 5'11" | OH Luxemburg Casco | 2022 State WI and setter Emma Johnson Emma Johnson 5'10" | S Luxemburg-Casco | 2022 State WI . Johnson is a do it all type setter who was conference player of the year that can defend, be offensive when needed, and knows how to get her attackers in position to terminate. A 2023 attacker to watch is Autumn Flynn Autumn Flynn 5'11" | MB Luxemburg-Casco | 2023 State WI who is just under six feet tall and is extremely terminal out of the middle and off of one foot. She will be playing for FC Elite 18 Elite this upcoming club season.
West Delaware – Manchester, IA (Class 3A – State Champion)
Enrollment – 485
West Delaware definitely has a system and it works. They play a really competitive schedule, and their offensive tempo is extremely tough to prepare for. They were lead by all state libero Ella Koloc Ella Koloc 5'4" | DS/L West Delaware | 2022 State IA and setter, Carlee Smith Carlee Smith 5'8" | S West Delaware | 2022 State IA who provide a crisp first two contacts. West Delaware runs a tempo with their middles where the middles are starting the swing before the setter even gets the ball. They play extremely high tempo and with their solid serve receive and passing they can definitely give teams of any size problems. They are a perennial contender in Class 3A or 4A in Iowa.
Macy Daufeldt Macy Daufeldt 5'10" | OH West Liberty | 2022 State #74 Nation IA with the big swing and tool off the block. What a grind. @WLCometVB is semifinal bound! pic.twitter.com/zkhkLjgm6q
— Chris Fitzgerald (@PrepDigChris) November 2, 2021
West Liberty – West Liberty, IA (Class 3A – State Runner-Up)
Enrollment – 377
Macy Daufeldt Macy Daufeldt 5'10" | OH West Liberty | 2022 State #74 Nation IA leads the way for the Comets who lost to West Delaware in the Class 3A championship game. She is a state long jump champion, a Drake volleyball commit, and now holds state records for recording 33 kills in a three set match in the quarterfinals. She would finish the state tournament with 91 overall kills in three matches. This team has a grit to them, they don’t make errors and know how to pick apart a team on the other side of the net. West Liberty is 20 miles East of Iowa City.
Lauren Buxton Lauren Buxton 6'1" | MB Pleasant Plains | 2022 IL really active along the net early for @plainssports as they take an early lead in the 2A Semifinals against Chicago Christian pic.twitter.com/KeBq3wxUvh
— Chris Fitzgerald (@PrepDigChris) November 12, 2021
Pleasant Plains – Pleasant Plains, IL (Class 2A – State Runner-Up)
Enrollment – 405
Balance is extremely key for Pleasant Plains, just outside of Springfield, IL. The Cardinals are led by two big attackers with over 300 kills in Peyton Bergscheider and Lauren Buxton Lauren Buxton 6'1" | MB Pleasant Plains | 2022 IL . Their style of play is very comparable to that of West Delaware where they run a really quick tempo and their middles can run multiple routes. When their ball control is on point, they are tough to beat. When they faced off against a long and athletic Chicago Christian squad in the semifinals their tempo was just too much and gave fits to Montini in the championship as well.
Western Christian – Hull, IA (Class 2A, State Runner-Up)
Enrollment – 272
Western Christian is known all too well in Iowa and even South Dakota and Nebraska. They wil face the top teams in Iowa as well as Sioux Falls and Omaha. The Wolfpack has been to the state semifinals the past twenty years (and that is not a hyperbole). This small Christian school is the corner of Northwest Iowa has always been a perennial power and this year was no different. This did face an 0-2 deficit to Beckman Catholic in the state quarterfinals, but in true Western fashion found a way to score points when it really counted.
Lake Country Lutheran – Hartland, WI (D3 – State Runner-Up)
Enrollment: 347
Lake Country Lutheran has produced some big time volleyball players who have gone on to have very successful collegiate careers. LCL is in the suburbs of Milwaukee and is always in the conversation to be one of the top teams in the state. This past season they were led by their libero and setter where their first two touches were on point. Libero, Adriana Studer Adriana Studer DS/L Lake Country Lutheran | 2022 State #187 Nation WI will be heading to Villanova and setter, Rachel Rossing Rachel Rossing 5'9" | S Lake Country Lutheran | 2023 State WI is on the rise among the Class of 2023 setters.