Our Volleyball Lookout spotted the Corner Conference, one that is both small and mighty. As this is a small conference, they had four teams above .500 and had some of Iowa’s top talent. These are not rankings, just looking out for the season ahead, and are in alphabetical order.
East Mills
East Mills is bringing back Evelyn Stoakes this season who will be their top returning hitter and was the top blocker last season with 83 total blocks. The Wolverines are losing their top hitter and setter from last season and will have those holes to fill as Miah Urban had 797 assists and 40 serving aces. They will have to look for another setter this season as Mia Goodman could possibly fill the role this year as she had 135 assists. The now senior also had 299 digs and a team-leading 50 aces. I expect the Wolverines to fill those previous senior-led roles with the talent developed last season.
Essex
The Trojans graduated just three seniors last year and couldn’t pull the team together offensively. This year, they will have a young team that had some varsity experience on the floor to compete for Essex. The Trojans are returning senior setter Brooke Burns as she had 227 assists last year and was second on the team in aces with 33. Tori Burns is a returning senior this season as she had 163 digs last year and led the team in aces and serving percentage with 37 aces and was at 91%. Essex has a lot of competition to battle against this season, but they have young talent that could develop the team to be an underdog in the conference.
Fremont-Mills
Fremont-Mills is returning two of their top three hitters from last season including senior Ellie Switzer in the middle and junior Charlie Chambers on the outside. Switzer had 42 blocks and 33 aces last season while posting 127 kills. Chambers had 147 kills last season while also posting 102 digs. Returning in the back row this season will be libero Bella Gute as she had 480 digs while defensive specialists Lily Crom had 192 and Addison Brandt had 154 as they will all be returning the back row. The Knights have a chance to be a great team defensively this season, and if they bring their A-game in defense, they will be a tough opponent to go against.
Griswold
The Tigers are returning a lot of talent back this season as they will be returning senior setter Carolina Arcia as she earned 475 assists last year while getting 40 aces. Griswold is returning junior outside hitter Marissa Askeland who had 180 kills last year and tied for second with aces as she had 47 and was second on the team in digs with 238. One other player to look out for this year will be Whitney Pennock as she led the team in digs with 297 and in aces with 49. Linsey Keiser dove for 186 digs last year and 47 aces and should make a big impact this season. With good senior leadership behind the coaching mind of Jody Rossell, Griswold will be a tough opponent for any team to battle against this year.
Sidney
The Cowgirls were beyond successful last season and they were able to achieve their success from three seniors and some defensive players. Sidney will be a very different team this year as the younger athletes will have to step up if they want to see the same success as last season. Senior Eve Brumbaugh will be returning to the floor as she had 314 digs and 35 aces while maintaining a 94% serving percentage. Aces leader, Fallon Sheldon will be returning to the serving line as she earned 40 on the season. Sidney is one team that I’m looking forward to watching and seeing how they compare to last season. I do think that under good leadership, the Cowgirls will be a successful team overall.
Stanton
Stanton looks to be losing a lot of offensive talent but retains a few players to help them develop the younger talent over the season. Kyla Hart is a returning junior setter as she earned 295 assists while setting to junior Lauren Johnson as she earned 249 kills and 330 digs. Senior Leah Sandin will also serve an important role in the back row this season as she earned 358 digs. Stanton was second in the conference behind Sidney last season and brings back some valuable talent to be a competitor in the Corner Conference.
