Regional Volleyball Preview: Stanton clashes with Grand View Christian in 1A final

With one Montgomery County school in the state volleyball tournament, another will try to make it in Wednesday night.

It's the Region 3 final for Class 1A as the Stanton Viqueens face off against Grand View Christian with a chance to clinch a berth to the state tournament.

The match starts at 7 p.m. at Nodaway Valley High School in Greenfield.

The Viqueens have made it through the first three challengers of the regional tournament. They first defeated South Page 3-0 on Oct. 21 in the first round.

In the quarterfinals, Stanton overcame a game one loss to defeat Bedford 3-1, last Tuesday.

It was the same situation last Friday as Stanton rallied back from a game one loss to defeat Griswold 3-1.

This will be the sixth straight regional final for the Viqueens, who have made it to the state tournament in four straight years, looking to make it for a fifth.

The string of regional finals began five years ago when the Viqueens lost to Treynor 3-1.

In 2010, Stanton defeated Bedford 3-1 in the regional final to make it to the state volleyball tournament for the first time in school history.

They played Grandview Park Baptist that season (now known as Grand View Christian), winning 3-1 and advancing to the semifinals.

In 2011, the Viqueens defeated Corning 3-0 to advance to the state tournament for a second straight year.  They lost in the quarterfinals that year to Boyden-Hull.

Stanton had to rally back in the 2012 regional final as they defeated Ar-We-Va 3-2.

Last year, Stanton defeated Murray 3-0 to win the regional final and advance to the state tournament.

The Viqueens have several hitters they can turn to for the final, including the Weis sisters, Haley and Chelsea. Haley Weis leads the team in kills with 226, while younger sister Chelsea is second with 190.

If that's not enough, Stanton can also rely on sophomore Ally Focht, who is third on the team in kills with 162. Focht can also set up the offensive attack as she's second on the team in assists (behind Logan Wagg's 424) with 317.

Stanton also has Heidi Vanderholm, who stepped up with some big kills in the regional semifinal versus Griswold. Vanderholm had 12 kills in the win last Friday.

The opponent

Grand View Christian has been able to pick up wins during the regional tournament. They were one of two teams to benefit from a first round bye.

The Thunder won in the quarterfinals versus Martensdale-St. Marys 3-0. They followed up with a 3-0 semifinal win at Murray.

The former Grandview Park Baptist school last made it to the state tournament in 2012 when they lost in the quarterfinals to Grundy Center.

Grand View Christian has a tough go-to hitter in Kaylee Whittington. The senior hitter leads the Blue Grass Conference in kills with 371.

Whittington had 12 kills in the semifinal win versus Murray last Friday.

This is the first season for Grand View Christian.

Other regional finals

Stanton isn't the only Corner Conference team playing in a regional final Wednesday night.

Fremont-Mills will try to stake its claim in the state tournament, but they face a tough test in LeMars-Gehlen Catholic. The two will face off in the Region 2 final in Woodbine.

With the exception of the quarterfinals, when they had to hold off a late rally by Sidney, Fremont-Mills has been able to cruise to this point.

They defeated Ar-We-Va in the regional semifinals 3-0, last Friday.

Gehlen Catholic had a first round bye as they defeated Kingsley-Pierson n the quarterfinals and Westwood in the semifinals.

This is a rematch from last year's regional final. Gehlen Catholic won last year's meeting 3-0.

Elsewhere, in Region 1 Spirit Lake will serve as the host site as Central Lyon faces Bishop Garrigan.

In Region 4, Janesville faces Coon Rapids-Bayard as the two square off in Colo.

New Hampton is the Region 5 final site as Tripoli takes on Turkey Valley.

Don Bosco faces Marquette Catholic in the Region 6 final, which takes place in Wyoming.

In Washington, it's Iowa Valley and New London facing off for the Region 7 final.

Finally, Holy Trinity and Moravia will face each other in the Region 8 final. That will take place in Bloomfield.

Go to IGHSAU.org to see all volleyball scores, brackets and updates.