Des Moines, Iowa: Metro Teams Take Three of Four Class 5A Volleyball Semifinal Spots

Des Moines metro schools won three of the four Class 5A quarterfinals at the Iowa high school state volleyball tournament on Monday, setting up a Wednesday semifinal round at Xtream Arena in Coralville where three of the four remaining teams play within a short drive of the capital.

The Iowa Girls High School Athletic Union state tournament runs November 2 to 5 at Xtream Arena, with eight teams in each of five classes. All four Class 5A quarterfinals were played on Monday, November 2.

Top seed Waukee Northwest, the reigning champion, opened with a 3-0 sweep of No. 8 Pleasant Valley, taking the sets 25-16, 25-17 and 28-26. Senior Logan Vogt put down 21 kills for the Wolves, who entered the tournament with a 29-2 record. Pleasant Valley beat Waukee Northwest 3-1 in the 2024 state final, and the Spartans pushed the third set past 25 points before the Wolves closed the match.

No. 5 Iowa City West beat No. 4 Dowling Catholic of West Des Moines 3-2 in the only five set match of the Class 5A round. Dowling won the first set 25-18. West took the next two sets 25-14 and 25-14. Dowling forced a fifth set with a 25-20 win, and the Trojans won the decider. Sophia Austen and Cyan Blommer combined for 50 kills for West, and the win was the school's first state tournament victory since 2016.

No. 2 Dallas Center-Grimes beat No. 7 Cedar Falls 3-1 in its first state tournament since moving up from Class 4A to Class 5A this season. Cedar Falls sophomore Hadassah Smith opened the match with a kill, and the Tigers led the fourth set 10-7 before the Mustangs rallied. Senior middle hitter Maggie Leifker ended the match with a block on match point, sealing the fourth set 25-23.

The last quarterfinal paired two schools from the same city. No. 3 Ankeny beat No. 6 Ankeny Centennial 3-1 to reach the semifinals for the second straight year. Centennial took the second set to level the match and led for most of the fourth. Back to back kills by Hailey Wiederin tied the fourth set at 23-23, Ankeny moved ahead 26-25, and a Centennial attack error on the final point ended the match.

What comes next

The Class 5A semifinals are Wednesday, November 4 at Xtream Arena. Waukee Northwest plays Iowa City West at 10 a.m., and Dallas Center-Grimes plays Ankeny at 10:35 a.m. The winners meet in the Class 5A championship match on Thursday, November 5. The tournament's other classes play their rounds through the week at the same arena.

For metro fans, the draw has a clear shape. Waukee Northwest is the defending champion and the top seed. Dallas Center-Grimes is new to Class 5A and still standing in its first tournament at this level. Ankeny has beaten its crosstown rival on the biggest stage in Iowa high school volleyball. At least one metro team will play for the Class 5A title on Thursday, and the final could match two of them.