No. 8 Mid-Prairie gets No. 1 Mount in state opening round

Mid-Prairie volleyball is back at the state tournament for the first time since 2004.

After a stellar run through the regional round, which ended with a regional title victory over Wilton, 3-1, the Golden Hawks find themselves as one of the final eight teams remaining in Class 3A.

The Golden Hawks (33-8) ended the season as the No. 8 ranked team and they get the No. 8 seed at the state tournament as well, meaning they will face the No. 1 seed.

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Mount Vernon (42-4), who has been the top ranked team in Class 3A for the majority of the season is who Mid-Prairie will face.

The pair have played once this season at a tournament in Pella back in August, the Mustangs took that win 2-0, 25-11 and 25-21.

It’s been some time since the two have met up, but Mid-Prairie will look for a shot at redemption on the biggest stage.

The Golden Hawks enter off three straight regional wins, defeating Davis County and Albia 3-0 and then the victory over Wilton.

Mount Vernon defeated West Marshall, PCM and Nevada all 3-0 to get to state. The Mustangs haven’t dropped a set since October 12.

Junior Jovi Evans leads Mid-Prairie in both kills and assists. Evans has hit 346 kills, six most in 3A, and dished out 574 assists to lead the Golden Hawks.

Junior Harper Pacha and senior Callie Huber follow Evans with 252 and 251 kills respectively. Huber is very efficient, as her .434 kill efficiency is the fourth best in 3A.

Freshman Jeorgia Evans and junior Katelyn Harland both have 153 and 152 kills as well.

Junior Avery Helmuth has also tallied 380 assists.

In the digs department, senior Dakota Mitchell has amassed 546 digs, which ranks third in Class 3A. Jeorgia Evans follows with 413 and Jovi Evans 358.

Mitchell also leads the Golden Hawks with a 3A seventh most 58 aces. Jovi Evans comes in with 54, the 10th most.

As a team, the Golden Hawks have 2,041 digs. That is the top tally in the class and fourth best across the state. They’re fourth in 3A with 1,247 kills and 1,182 assists. With 262 aces, they rank fifth.

For Mount Vernon, senior Sydney Huber has posted 1,196 assists. That number is the best in the entire state through all classes.

Fellow senior Chloe Meester has 534 kills, which is the best in the class and third highest in the state. Meester and Sydney Maue are one and two in kill efficiency at .467 and .443 respectively.

The Mustangs Eryn Jackson is third in Class 3A in aces with 77.

As a team, Mount Vernon has the highest totals of any class in kills and assists carding 1,434 and 1,332 respectively. With a kill efficiency of .393, the Mustangs rank first in 3A and second in all classes.

With 321 serve aces, Mount Vernon is first in 3A and fourth regardless of class.

The Golden Hawks and Mount Vernon will square off at 10 a.m. on Tuesday inside Xtream Arena in Coralville.