CORALVILLE — Since grade school, this year’s Humboldt senior class has been building a bond and forming a friendship on and off the court.

Growing up traveling for volleyball, playing in camps and playing around the state has built something special with the grades below them.

Now fast forward to their final season as Wildcats, Humboldt will embark on their second ever state tournament appearance.

“They’ve been a very good group of girls from the start,” said Humboldt head coach Kara Waldorf. “They’re super competitive and they’re a team of best friends together as well.

“They have the same goal — and they want it bad.”

The fifth-seeded Wildcats (31-6 overall) will face fourth-seed Cherokee Washington (29-7) in the first round of the Class 3A 3A tournament on Tuesday inside Xtream Arena in Coralville.

Waldorf coached most of the Wildcat roster at a young age and saw early what could be possible.

“We have a really good youth program,” Waldorf said. “Each grade starts early and has been able to develop at a young age, whether it be club volleyball or traveling to areas like Cedar Falls and Des Moines to get the extra experience at a competitive level.”

Waldorf knew from Day 1 that with the right mix and a tough schedule this group would be able to match the 2020 team and earn a state berth.

“Knowing the individual players, we knew we had the talent, it was just about finding the right rotations and building up our schedule,” Waldorf said. “We went to some preseason scrimmages and had some girls in open gyms early this summer. In early August we scrimmaged a lot of teams and we actually beat a few that I wasn’t sure if we could.

“We played at a scrimmage at the Xtream Arena and had the feeling that we could do it. This group has the feeling that’s not even an option to not make the state tournament.”

The Wildcats are built on seven seniors, including four starters, as well as one junior and three sophomores who see regular time on the court.

Waldorf looks at her team’s balance as a key factor in their success.

“Balance has been the fun part of it,” Waldorf said. “Every girl has stepped up at any moment. We’ve had our ups and downs. Now it seems like every hitter is connecting with our setter. If one hitter is off, we have four others who can pick them up and spread our offense a lot.

“We don’t rely on one power hitter and that makes it a lot of fun.”

Humboldt reached the state field with a four-set victory over Roland-Story.

Sophomore Adelynn Goodell (261), along with senior Mia Schluter (244), lead the Wildcats in kills. Sophomore Addie Waldorf leads the Wildcats in assists with 866.

On the defensive side of the ball, senior Claire Dieleman (279) and classmate Kendall Works (201) lead the Wildcats in digs.Sophomore Adelynn Goodell has 70 blocks, while senior Alivia Goodell has 37.

At the service line, Waldorf has 50 aces and is 90 percent in accuracy. Adelynn Goodell has 47 aces and Works has 43.

Offensively, the Braves are led by Deidra Doeden (287 kills), Ellana Mortenson (231) and Addy Wolfswinkel (221). Ireland Kennedy (362), Mortenson (285) and Wolfswinkel (207) pace Cherokee in digs. Doeden has 101 blocks.

“I feel like the two teams are evenly matched,” Waldorf said. “They have some strong outside hitters and are good in the middle. We have to watch out for their quick tempo, but player for player I feel like we are even.

“I told the girls it’s going to come down to who plays harder and is strong in the mental and physical game.”

With the group on the court, Waldorf is looking forward to the next couple of years of Humboldt volleyball.

“We have a lot of high hopes because this senior group is special,” Waldorf said. “They have played a huge role in this. The three sophomores played as freshmen. The young players play like older players and are some of the leaders on the team.

“We have a solid core coming back that we can piece together for some of the open positions. We have really high hopes for the next few years.”