Regional Volleyball Preview: Red Oak/Albia to face off in final
We've finally reached the regional final and Red Oak looks to make another appearance at the state volleyball tournament in Cedar Rapids.
But first, their focus will be on the 3A regional final Tuesday night when they take on Albia at Creston High School. The action kicks off at 7 p.m.
Red Oak reached the regional final with wins over Clarke last Monday and Clarinda last Thursday. For Albia, they made it to the final with wins over Centerville and Interstate-35.
The Tigers look to make their second straight state tournament appearance and third in the last four years. The only time Red Oak hasn't made the state tournament in the last few seasons was 2011 when they lost in the regional final to Harlan.
Red Oak fields a team that has played in a couple of those regional finals. Makelti White, now a senior, is the only current varsity player who was also part of the 2010 state volleyball team. White was the only freshman for Red Oak listed on varsity.
Red Oak has three key hitters that will be vital for Tuesday night. Kate Walker, Grace Blomstedt and Angela Mahoney will be key for the Tigers.
Walker has 329 kills this season, which is third most in the Hawkeye 10. Mahoney has 237 kills and Blomstedt has 224.
Red Oak will also rely on White and Courtney Billings to set up the offensive attack. Billings has 372 assists, while White has 361.
Albia has a pair of senior hitters who each have 200 kills. Hannah Dustin (247) and Brooke Bettis (212) will be the players to watch from Albia. They also will be key in the back row as they're top two on the Lady Dees in digs. Dustin has 235 digs, while Bettis has 204.
There will be seven other regional finals taking place in 3A Tuesday night. Kuemper Catholic and North Polk will face off in the Region 3 final. That match has been moved from Denison to Perry.
The Region 1 final will feature Sheldon against Garner-Hayfield-Ventura in Estherville. Spencer will be the Region 2 final site as Algona takes on MOC-Floyd Valley.
Nevada and Bondurant-Farrar will face off in the Region 5 final, which takes place in Huxley.
In Region 6, Iowa Falls-Alden will take on Union as the match takes place in Hudson. Vinton will be the Region 7 final site as Independence takes on Center Point-Urbana.
Finally, in Region 8, Mediapolis will play Mount Vernon as the match takes place in West Liberty.
4A
In Class 4A, Harlan and Lewis Central will face off in the Region 2 final. The match will now take place in Neola.
Region 1 of Class 4A will feature a finals match-up between LeMars and Bishop Heelan. The match will take place at Sioux City North High School.
In Carlisle, Pella and Indianola will face each other in the Region 3 final.
Region 4 will feature a match-up between ADM and Waverly-Shell Rock as that will take place in Webster City.
Boone and Charles City will be the Region 5 final as that takes place in Clear Lake.
The Region 6 final will be between West Delaware and Cedar Rapids Xavier as that takes place at Dyersville-Beckman.
In Region 7, Marion takes on Davenport Assumption in Tipton. Finally, in Region 8, Clear Creek-Amana takes on Solon at Cedar Rapids Washington High School.
Class 5A
Abraham Lincoln of Council Bluffs will travel to Waukee for the Region 2 final when they take on Dowling Catholic.
Ames will be the host for the Region 1 final when Sioux City East takes on Ankeny.
West Des Moines Valley takes on Johnston in the Region 3 final, which takes place at Des Moines Lincoln High School.
In Region 4, Newton will be the host site as Iowa City High takes on Urbandale.
Cedar Falls takes on Ankeny Centennial in the Region 5 final, which will be in Marshalltown.
Dubuque Senior High School will be the Region 6 site as Dubuque Hempstead takes on Cedar Rapids Kennedy.
Cedar Rapids Jefferson faces Peasant Valley in the Region 7 final at Davenport Central High School.
Finally, Bettendorf and Muscatine play each other in the Region 8 final at Davenport West High School.
To see all the brackets, go to IGHSAU.org.