IGHSAU releases volleyball pairings

The Iowa Girls High School Athletic Union released brackets for the 2022 volleyball postseason on Friday, and area teams now know their paths to the state championships. The brackets set up some interesting first round clashes, as well as the potential for monster matchups in the later rounds.

The Union area’s only Class 4A school is Mt. Pleasant, and the Panthers will be playing a familiar foe in the opening round. Class 4A’s Region 8 sees Mt. Pleasant traveling to Burlington for an opening round battle on October 18.

Four SEC teams can be found in Region 8. Keokuk and Fort Madison will fight for the chance to play at No. 2 North Scott in the semifinals. The Mt. Pleasant-Burlington winner will play at Oskaloosa on the 20th, with the championship taking place on the 25th.

The area’s three Class 3A schools landed in Region 8, an eight-team region which holds first round games on Oct. 17. No. 11 Mid-Prairie and Washington will play again after the Golden Hawks ousted the Demons earlier this season.

The winner of the Mid-Prairie-Washington game will play in Wellman on Oct. 19 against either Davis County or Central Lee in the semifinals.

Fairfield will get to host a first round game, as the Trojans draw Tipton in the quarterfinals. A win there would push Fairfield on play No. 2. Davenport Assumption, that is unless the Knights are upset by first-round opponent Camanche.

Three of the area’s Class 2A teams will be in Region 8 on the 2A side, as Pekin, Van Buren County and Cardinal will all be in action on the 17th, playing in the opening round.

Van Buren County and Cardinal will face off against each other in Keosauqua. The Warriors nipped the Comets in three sets at a tournament earlier this season, while Pekin plays Central Decatur.

The top seeds in that bracket will be the squads waiting for the winners of the opening-round games. No. 5 Eddyville-Blakesburg Fremont would be Pekin’s quarterfinal opponent, and No. 11 West Burlington will wait on Van Buren County or Cardinal.

Columbus will be headed to Cascade for their opening round game, as part of Class 2A’s Region 7 action. The winner will play in the quarterfinals at No. 3 Wapsie Valley.

A much-anticipated Class 1A field shows two of the area’s top teams getting Top-4 seeds in Region 8. Winfield-Mt. Union and WACO will both host until the semifinals.

The Wolves get Twin Cedars in their opening round game on the 17th. A win there would pit them against either Wapello or Keota, and that sets up a potential semifinal bout with No. 3 Notre Dame.

On the other side of the bracket, WACO faces Melcher-Dallas, with the winner getting North Mahaska or Mormon Trail in the semifinals. WACO could potentially take on No. 10 Holy Trinity in the semifinals. Those games are on the 24th, with the regional championship being played on the 26th.

Region 7 is home to No. 14 New London, which takes on Hillcrest Academy in the opening round. The winner of that gets Iowa Valley or English Valleys in the quarters. Highland will host Tri-County for a shot against Central City or Lone Tree.

At the top of the Region 7 bracket sits the No. 1 team in Class 1A, in Springville. New London is the top contender in the bracket to get a shot at the top dogs in the regional final.

All regional brackets can be found on IGHSAU.com.