(Area) Our glance into the past in volleyball reveals Harlan and Atlantic as the leaders in terms of state qualifications for KSOM/KS95.7 broadcast area teams. The Cyclones have been among the elite field eight times including three trips to the finals from 2013-15. Angie Spangenberg oversaw the team’s back-to-back state championships. Atlantic hasn’t been to state in over 30 years, but the Trojans once had a stretch of four straight appearances in the early to mid-1980’s. Both Harlan and Atlantic have had 21 all-state selections with Harlan’s Jess Schaben being a four time first team pick and Atlantic’s Angie Jenkins (2002-04) was a three time selection on the all-state team. The only other player to make the all-state team more than twice was Anita’s Zoey Artist from 1995-97.
Griswold has two state appearances and made it to the semifinals each year. Players such as Tami Shellberg, Wendy Stonehocker, and Jean Marie Shaw led the Tigers to great heights in the early 1980’s.
Audubon, CAM, and Guthrie Center all have one state tournament qualification in their program history. Details on those state tourney teams plus information on all-state players are available in today’s installment of the “History Books” series. Previous posts have included:
State Volleyball Appearances
ACGC: None (Guthrie Center qualified in 2013, scroll down for additional info)
AHSTW: None
Atlantic: 6 (79, 82, 83, 84, 85, 89)
In 1979 Atlantic went 2-4 in Pool D. The Trojans lost to Wahlert 15-7, 15-6, 15-9 in the first round in 1982. In ’83 they were ousted by Western Christian 15-11, 15-7, 15-7. 1984 brought a first round loss to Knoxville 15-12, 15-11, 15-13. In 1985 they were upended by eventual champ North Scott 15-1, 15-10, 15-13. Davenport Central beat Atlantic 15-9, 15-9, 10-15, 10-15, 15-10 in 1989.
Audubon: 1 (2016)
The Wheelers were a little bit under the radar going into the postseason at 24-6, but all of their regular season losses had been to teams in higher classes. Coach Molly Lange led the group that topped Grand View Christian in an exciting five set match to qualify. At state they ran into Springville and were swept by the Orioles. Kaitlin Schultes had over 400 kills on the season, ranking 5th in Class 1A in that category. Other hitters were Sydney Obermeier, Macy DeBower, Katie Konkler, and Keaton Wessel. Claire Olsen’s 885 assists were sixth most for Class 1A and Taylor Nielsen’s 502 digs ranked 3rd best in the state. Jasmine Turner was another key back row player and Sara Wede saw some varsity time. The rest of the roster had Gianna Knueven, Mary Svoboda, Lila Sebetka, Gracye Albertsen, and Rachel Mosinksi.
CAM: 1 (1998)
They lost to Iowa Mennonite 15-8, 15-6, 15-9 in the first round. Team members were Kelsey Cave, Jessi McCunn, Shelby Schultes, Megan Turner, Sherry Ticknor, Lisa Steinhoff, Layne Westfall, Ann Muller, Mikala Lee, Amber Littler, Shannon Ticknor, Amy Bagshaw, Stephanie Kinzie, and Jenny McCunn. Coaches included Katherine Hadley, Michelle Behrends, and Melissa Goergen. The team had a record of 32-1-1. A big postseason win over Audubon helped spark the run to state.
Exira-EHK: None
Griswold: 2 (1982 and 1983)
The Tigers made the semifinals in each of their two state tourney appearances. In 1982 they opened with a 5-set win over Clarinda 15-13, 8-15, 15-10, 10-15, 15-9 before being ousted by Unity Christian 15-0, 15-1, 15-12. In 1983 their first round win came over Manson 15-7, 15-2, 15-5. They took the opening set from eventual champion Mater Dei in the semi’s, but lost 8-15, 15-7, 15-12, 15-8. Some of the players in that era were Denise Milner, Lisa Corbin, Sherri Krueger, Tami Reynolds, Sharry Mason, Vonda Woodward, Jean Marie Shaw, Becky Bates, Tracy Wilkinson, Amy Moore, Wendy Stonehocker, Tami Shellberg, Mareeda Emsick, and Sherry Whiley.
Guthrie Center: 1 (2013)
At state the Tigers lost to Holy Trinity Catholic which was led by Nebraska commit Mikaela Foecke. The future First Team All-American had 29 kills in the quarterfinal contest. It ended a 12-match win streak for Guthrie Center which included postseason victories over Paton-Churdan, Coon Rapids-Bayard, Martensdale-St. Marys, and AGWSR. Kacie Schreck had 22 kills and 22 digs in the team’s regional final win. Schreck led the team that season in kills with 255 while Mallory Osen, Morgan Mozingo, and Claire Thompson all had over 100. Thompson had a team high 613 assists (10th most in Class 1A). Sydney Danker’s 507 digs were 2nd best in the state. Neta Boyer and Rachel Long were other varsity contributors with Jazlyn Nelsen, Joci Smith, Lauren Hansen, Alison Hanner, and Leigan Laughery also on the roster.
Harlan: 8 (04, 05, 07, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15)
8-7 state tourney record
State Championships: 2 (2013 and 2014)
In addition to two championships, Harlan was the runner-up in 2015. The Cyclones went 0-6 at the state tourney prior to their three straight finals appearances. In the 2013 title run they took out LeMars, Charles City, and Solon. The Charles City match was a wild, five set contest which saw Jess Schaben record 31 kills and Kenzie Swanson post 47 assists. The following year they topped Lewis Central, Clear Creek-Amana, and West Delaware to finish with a 41-2 overall record. Schaben had 33 kills in the final match of her illustrious prep career and Swanson tallied 50 assists. Iowa Girls Coaches Association Hall of Famer Angie Spangenberg coached the program at the height of its success.
Nodaway Valley: None
Riverside: None
IGHSAU/Iowa Girls Coaches Association and/or DM Register All-Staters
*Prior to the mid 1980’s all-state selections were not broken down into different classifications
ACGC (1)
Chloe Largent: 2019 3rd team
Adair-Casey (4)
Julie Ernst: 1986 7th team
Tara Kading (2X): 1990 3rd team and 1991 3rd team
Jen Eggen: 1993 4th team
AHSTW* (2)
Amy Town: 1992 7th team
Kinsey Scheffler: 2019 Honorable Mention
*AHST and Walnut joined in 2012-13
Anita (3)
Zoey Artist (3X): 1995 2nd team, 1996 3rd team, 1997 2nd team
Atlantic (21)
Sharon Hoffman (2X): 1979 4th team, 1980 3rd team
Ann Camblin: 1981 6th team
Denise Weideman: 1982 5th team
Joey Schope: 1983 5th team
Cami Stevenson: 1986 5th team
Sara Mailander (2X): 1988 4th team, 1989 3rd team
Tina Smith: 1989 2nd Team
Bryn Barnes: 1990 6th team
Tammy Andersen: 1991 2nd team
Angie Runchey: 1993 4th team
Janna Hoegh: 1994 2nd team
Amy Jenkins: 1994 4th team
Jenny Runchey: 1994 5th team
Tiff Pedersen: 2000 5th team
Jamie Hoegh: 2002 4th team
Angie Jenkins (3X): 2002 6th team, 2003 2nd team, 2004 2nd team
Anna Wernimont: 2009 3rd team
Audubon (9)
Mindi Remsburg: 1988 6th team
Peira Vitali: 1993 3rd team
Kate Wagner: 1993 5th team
Mel Bauer: 1993 7th team
Tricia Christensen (2X): 1995 7th team, 1996 7th team
Jenny Randeris: 1998 5th team
Kaitlin Schultes: 2016 1st team
Claire Olsen: 2016 3rd team
CAM (2)
Sherry Ticknor: 1998 2nd team
Shannon Ticknor: 1999 7th team
Cumberland-Massena (2)
Stacy Ticknor: 1996 7th team
Sherry Ticknor: 1997 7th team
Elk Horn (2)
Jan Jensen: 1986 3rd team
Shannon Kite: 1988 3rd team
Exira (2)
Hallie Christofferson (2X): 2008 2nd team, 2009 1st team
Greenfield (2)
Anita Lampe (2X) 1989 4th team, 1990 2nd team
Griswold (5)
Tami Shellberg: 1982 7th team
Wendy Stonehocker: 1983 1st team
Jean Marie Shaw: 1983 4th team
April Sifford: 1992 4th team
Sydney McLaren: 2014 2nd team
Guthrie Center (3)
Marie Sharon: 1981 5th team
Sue Luckinbill: 1983 3rd team
Liz Mobley: 1987 5th team
Harlan (21)
Kris Weis (2X): 1984 5th team and 1985 2nd team
Michelle Spetman: 1991 6th team
Amy Block: 1995 5th team
Maggie Hall: 1996 3rd team
Allison Stracke: 2001 4th team
Darcy Gross: 2002 3rd team
Kelli Goeser (2X): 2004 1st team, 2005 1st team
Stephanie Connell: 2006 3rd team
Jess Schaben (4X): 2011 1st team, 2012 1st team, 2013 1st team, 2014 1st team
Kenzie Swanson: 2013 2nd team
Asia Kloewer (2X): 2013 1st team, 2014 1st team
Taylor Frederick (2X): 2014 2nd team, 2015 1st team
Jordyn Moser: 2015 2nd team
Jessica Duval: 2015 2nd team
Nodaway Valley (1)
Courtney Varley, 2004 2nd team
Riverside (1)
Savannah Smith: 2009 2nd team
