The high school volleyball postseason began Monday for the smaller classes. Six teams in Class 1A received byes, in alphabetical order: Ankeny Christian, Burlington Notre Dame, Don Bosco, Gladbrook-Reinbeck, North Tama, and Springville.
The cluster of four teams in a small area — especially NT and GR — has caused an interesting geographical bracket setup. GR is the southernmost team in a north regional. NT is the second-northeasternmost team in a regional half northeast of Des Moines and half encompassing all of south-central Iowa.
North Tama’s 33-4 record includes invitationals, including the Springville Invitational on Sept. 17, when the Redhawks lost their No. 1 ranking to the Orioles. Other teams played far fewer games; Orient-Macksburg is 1-15.
Only Southeast Warren is more than two games above .500 in the 15-team regional. It is possible SEW could play NT in the final at a site to be determined.
First, tonight North Tama plays 5-29 Collins-Maxwell in Traer.
If the Redhawks make it to state, they’ll be playing in Coralville, which stole the tournament from was awarded the tournament over Cedar Rapids, in an arena that refuses to disclose what Mediacom paid for naming rights. (As a Gazette employee and believer in the public’s right to know, this offends my sensibilities.) The “Fieldhouse” next door is in a $1.4 million, 10-year deal with GreenState Credit Union., only slightly less than what MidAmerican Energy paid to have its name and logo plastered on the turf at Jack Trice Stadium.
GO REDHAWKS!
(The Bound site does not appear to honor right-clicking for “open in new tab”. How rude.)