For the fourth straight year, the Iowa Falls-Alden and South Hardin volleyball teams will meet to begin their seasons Tuesday. It’ll also be a battle between two first-year head coaches.
The Cadets will look for a strong start after a 5-25 season last year. Regarding personnel, they’re in a good position with four full-time starters from that team returning. Co-head Coach Nikki Allen on the matchup.
“Obviously they’ve had a strong program,” Allen says. “They had a lot of seniors, so I know they have a different team, a younger team, a new coach. Also maybe some similarities of things that we have experienced. I know though they have solid players, so we’re not going to be able to just go in there and think, well, they lost everybody. But I do think it’s going to be a good match. And I hope that our girls can go in with the confidence that I’ve seen them play with and really battle. That’s our goal. I would like to believe that it could be a winnable game for us.”
Carlea Dagel is back for her junior season at middle/outside hitter after leading the Cadets with 2.7 kills per set.
Coming off a 26-9 season that featured a state tournament appearance, South Hardin returns three full-time starters. Emma Minteer is the top returning offensive talent, having recorded 2.6 kills per set last year. However, they’ll look to fill the setter position and will turn to many of last year’s bench players for their offense. Head Coach Cindy Holmes says the team is ready to put its preseason work to the test.
“I’m super excited for the kids to be able to apply all of that, and that we’ve got a season together underneath our belt in the sense of open gyms through now,” Holmes says. “The excitement is definitely there, and we’ve been working hard, and our bodies are ready to start the match schedule.”
The match will air on 99 The Wave with pregame coverage at 6:45, followed by the first serve at 7:00 at South Hardin High School.
