Regional Volleyball Preview: 1A and 2A semifinals

With Red Oak playing for a regional final next week, we're guaranteed to at least have one more team making it to a regional final. Three teams will be playing Friday night, two of them will face off in one of the 1A semifinals.

Those two teams are Stanton and Griswold. They'll face off in one of the Region 3 semifinals at 7 p.m. at Griswold High School.

This is the second meeting between the two this season. Stanton and Griswold last squared off at the Clarinda Tournament Sept. 6 when Griswold won 2-0.

Stanton reached the semifinals when they defeated Bedford 3-1. Griswold meanwhile won 3-0 against Lenox Tuesday night at home in the quarterfinals.

The Viqueens will have to contend with one of the best hitters in the state in Sydney McLaren. The Griswold freshman has 421 kills this year, second most in Class 1A.

During the Clarinda tournament, McLaren recorded 11 kills against Stanton.

Stanton has several hitters they can turn to, including the Weis sisters, Haley and Chelsea.  They each scored 12 kills during Tuesday's win against Bedford. Stanton can also turn to Ally Focht and Heidi Vanderholm.

The other semifinal in 1A-Region 3 features Murray hosting Grand View Christian. 

Murray had to hold off a late rally by Mount Ayr Tuesday night to advance to the semifinals. Grandview Christian meanwhile cruised through a three set win against Martensdale-St. Marys.

The winners of Stanton/Griswold and Grand View Christian/Martensdale-St. Marys will face off Wednesday in Greenfield.

In Class 2A-Region 4, the Southwest Valley Timberwolves are ready to go as they face off against Woodward-Granger. The match will take place at West Central Valley High School in Stuart at 7 p.m.

Southwest Valley won a close three-set match against Earlham Tuesday night to get to the quarterfinals.

Marie Palmer continues to be the key player for the Timberwolves. She had 16 kills in Tuesday's win against Earlham.

With Southwest Valley's win, Earlham was the only first round bye team to lose in the quarterfinals.

Woodward-Granger meanwhile had a 3-0 win Tuesday against Central Decatur. Five players had at least five kills for Woodward-Granger in their three-set win. Mary Hansen led the way with eight.

The other semifinal in Class 2A-4 features Pella Christian at Eddyville-Blakesburg-Fremont.

Pella Christian defeated Des Moines Christian Tuesday night in the quarterfinals. Eddyville-Blakesburg-Fremont meanwhile defeated Pleasantville 3-0.

The winner of Southwest Valley/Woodward-Granger and Pella Christian/Eddyville-Blakesburg-Fremont will play each other Wednesday night in Pleasantville.

Go to IGHSAU.org to see the brackets and regional tournament scores for all five classes.