Photo by Paul DeCoursey Area players returning to the Iowa Central volleyball team include (left to right): Chloe Hicks (Southeast Valley), Deni McDaniel (Humboldt), Molly McCauley (Algona), Kiana Touney (Fort Dodge), Brooke Hansen (Fort Dodge), Devyn Scott (St. Edmond), Jori Hajek (Humboldt) and Baylyn Johnson (Algona).

Just a few short months ago, the Iowa Central volleyball team was putting a cap on a memorable season.

The Tritons claimed a third consecutive ICCAC regular season title, scored a regional championship to advance to nationals, and finished it all off with a program-best third place finish.

Now, Iowa Central and head coach Sara Horn have their sights set on doing it again during a more “normal” season.

“This offseason has been a little strange,” Horn said. “We usually have a winter season, spring season and summer break in between fall seasons. But we have a really experienced group, so I think this group maybe more so than other years when we’re not quite as experienced was a little more ready to jump right back into it.”

Among those key pieces returning are what Horn calls her “super sophomores.” Four players are back for a third season within the program, including Alesha Johnson, who was named the league player of the year.

Joining Johnson will be St. Edmond grad Devyn Scott, former Algona standout Baylyn Johnson and Haley Alharithy.

“Those four are the only ones who have experienced a ‘normal’ year, so for our other sophomore returners and our new freshmen, they don’t have anything to compare this to,” Horn said. “I’m excited for them to experience tournaments this year and to play out-of-conference matches because that’s something they didn’t get to do last year.

“Having those four back is great. When a player can verbalize what your critique is going to be before you even have a chance to say it, you know they’ve been paying attention and that they understand fully what they’re suppose to be doing. These four players each bring something unique to the program, and their experience and strengths are really invaluable.”

Angel Baylark, the ICCAC newcomer of the year in the spring, Algona graduate Molly McCauley, Bailey Dugan and Katilyn Steffes are among a large group of players who were key pieces to helping the Tritons reach nationals. They are joined by Emma Rissman, Siela Avea, Natalia Kellerman, Jaiden Zeis and Bria Sandifer as second-year freshmen.

Incoming freshmen include Kira Matthias, Deni McDaniel, Baylee Greene, Michaelah Petrowiak, Aaliyah Lobendahn, Brooke Dobson, Jalyn Simon, Jori Hajek, Chloe Hicks, Brooke Hansen, Kylie McVey and Kiana Touney.

McDaniel and Hajek helped Humboldt reach the state tournament last year, while Hansen and Touney are Fort Dodge Senior High graduates. Hicks played at Southeast Valley.

“We have 13 newcomers this year and they have come in ready to compete,” Horn said. “It’s always great to have depth and competition, and these new players are bringing it every day in practice.

“This has been a really fun group to get to know so far and it’s going to be a great year.”

Iowa Central enters the year ranked third in the nation behind Johnson County and Parkland. They will see both of those teams early in September before jumping into league play. The ICCAC also has Kirkwood (eighth), Hawkeye (10th) and Des Moines Area (16th) in the preseason poll.

“Coming back just over three months after last season ended to another season is definitely a bonus when you have a lot of experience back,” Horn said. “I do think a lot of teams bring back a lot of experience, though, so I think this is going to be a really fun, competitive season in the ICCAC and NJCAA.”

2021 IOWA CENTRAL VOLLEYBALL

Roster

Sophomores — Devyn Scott, Baylyn Johnson, Haley Alharithy, Alesha Johnson.

Freshmen — Emma Rissman, Siela Avea, Angel Baylark, Molly McCauley, Kira Matthias, Natalia Kellerman, Bailey Dugan, Jaiden Zeis, Deni McDaniel, Katilyn Steffes, Baylee Greene, Michaelah Petrowiak, Bria Sandifer, Aaliyah Lobendahn, Brooke Dobson, Jalyn Simon, Jori Hajek, Chloe Hicks, Brooke Hansen, Kylie McVey, Kiana Touney.

Schedule

Aug. 20 — at OWT All In in Rockford, Ill.; 21 — at OWT All In in Rockford, Ill.; 24 — Briar Cliff JV; 27 — Kansas City-Kansas (3 p.m.), Marshalltown (7 p.m.).

Sept. 1 — at Ellsworth; 3 — North Dakota Science (4 p.m.), Parkland (7:30 p.m.); 4 — Metropolitan (11:45 a.m.), Illinois Central (1:30 p.m.); 8 — Des Moines Area; 10 — Johnson County (2 p.m.), Parkland (4 p.m.) in Cedar Rapids; 15 — at Hawkeye; 17 — Central Lakes-Brainerd (4 p.m.), Bismarck State (8 p.m.) in Wahpeton, N.D.; 18 — Concordia JV (9:30 a.m.), Jamestown JV (11:30 a.m.) in Wahpeton, N.D.; 22 — Iowa Lakes; 24 — Grand View JV (6 p.m.), NIACC (8 p.m.) in Mason City; 29 — at Southwestern.

Oct. 1 — Glen Oaks (3 p.m.), Coffeyville (5 p.m.) in Boone; 2 — Neosho (noon), Rochester Tech (2 p.m.) in Boone; 6 — Kirkwood; 8 — Metropolitan (3 p.m.), St. Mary’s JV (5 p.m.) in Lee’s Summit, Mo.; 13 — at Southeastern; 15 — Cowley County (1 p.m.), Central-Columbus (4:30 p.m.); 16 — Williston State (11:15 a.m.), Carl Sandburg (1 p.m.); 20 — Northeast; 22 — at Southeast; 27 — at NIACC.