State volleyball 1st round recap

CORALVILLE — The 2022-23 State Volleyball tournament kicked off on Monday and Tuesday with all five classes beginning the final quest for a state title.

There was a lot of action and drama in each of the five opening rounds.

While five number one seeds walked away with a victory, the rest of the brackets were shaken up a bit.

In Class 1A, No. 1 Springville, who defeated New London in a five set thriller to get to state, took care of No. 8 Riverside in three sets. The Orioles dominated the first two sets 25-8 in each, before completing the sweep with a 25-17 victory in the third.

Springville will take on No. 4 Ankeny Christian in the semifinals.

Ankeny Christian earned its spot in the semis with a sweep of Don Bosco. The Eagles completed the sweep with victories of 25-16, 25-23 and 25-14.

One of the bigger upsets of the tournaments opening round came with the match between No. 2 North Tama and No. 7 AGWSR.

AGWSR upset North Tama in the bout that went all five sets. The Cougars defeated the Redhawks 25-21, 11-25, 25-27, 25-14 and 15-13.

AGWSR moves on the semifinals against No. 3 Gladbrook-Reinbeck.

Gladbrook-Reinbeck defeated the Southeast Iowa Super Conference’s last remaining team, No. 6 Holy Trinity Catholic in four sets.

The Rebels defeated the Crusaders 25-20, 14-25, 25-14 and 25-22.

Up in 2A, No. 1 Dike-New Hartford rolled to an opening round victory over No. 8 Kuemper Catholic 25-20, 25-11 and 25-14.

Dike-New Hartford will take on No. 4 Hinton in the semifinals.

Hinton defeated No. 5 Denver in four sets, 25-20, 25-22, 18-25 and 25-13 to advance.

On the other side of the bracket, No. 2 Western Christian downed No. 7 Sumner-Fredericksburg 3-1. The Wolfpack were winners, 21-25, 26-24, 26-24 and 25-18 over the Cougars.

Western Christian will take on No. 6 Eddyville-Blakesburg-Fremont for a trip to the finals.

The Rockets sealed their spot in the semifinals with an upset of No. 3 Wapsie Valley. They were winners 25-22, 11-25, 25-20 and 25-21 in the match.

In Class 3A, No. 1 Des Moines Christian defeated No. 8 Union Community 3-1, 26-28, 25-23, 25-21 and 25-17.

The number two match featured No. 4 Sioux Center and No. 5 West Liberty. Sioux Center swept West Liberty in the match 25-17 in all three sets.

Des Moines Christian and Sioux Center will square off for a state title appearance.

No. 2 Davenport Assumption, who defeated Mid-Prairie to earn a tournament spot, moves on with a victory over No. 7 Osage.

Assumption edged the Green Devils 25-22, 19-25, 25-15 and 32-30.

They will take on No. 3 Mount Vernon, who defeated No. 6 Unity Christian, 25-17, 25-17 and 25-15 in round one.

Moving on in Class 4A is No. 1 Cedar Rapids Xavier. Xavier swept No. 8 Bishop Heelan, 25-16, 25-13 and 25-11.

They will take on No. 5 Western Dubuque, who went to five sets with No. 4 Indianola. The Bobcats defeated the Indians 23-25, 25-21, 21-25, 25-22 and 15-11.

On the bottom half of the 4A bracket, No. 2 North Scott completed the sweep of No. 7 Bondurant-Farrar, 25-15, 25-21 and 25-10.

The Lancers will meet up with No. 6 Clear Creek-Amana in the semifinals.

Clear Creek-Amana downed No. 3 Marion in five sets, 19-25, 25-17, 23-25, 25-21 and 15-8 to move on.

Rounding out the state tournaments first round is Class 5A.

No. 1 seeded Iowa City Liberty won its first round match against No. 8 Urbandale in four sets, 22-25, 25-20, 25-20 and 25-17.

Liberty will take on No. 5 Ankeny Centennial who defeated No. 4 Dowling Catholic in a comeback five set battle, 25-22, 23-25, 19-25, 29-27 and 15-11.

On the other half of the bracket, No. 7 West Des Moines Valley blistered No. 2 Ankeny in three sets, 25-13, 26-24 and 25-21.

In the semifinals, WDM Valley will matchup with No. 3 Pleasant Valley for a trip to the state finals.

Pleasant Valley defeated No. 6 Waukee Northwest in four sets, 25-19, 25-18, 24-26 and 25-18.

As of the release of this article, all semifinal matches will be completed.

State Champions will be crowned on Thursday, starting with 5A. 1`

The 5A finals match will begin at 10 a.m., followed by 4A at 12:15 p.m., 3A at 2:30 p.m., 2A at 4:45 p.m. and 1A at 7 p.m.