The #5 (2A) Aplington-Parkersburg volleyball team will look to punch its ticket back to the state tournament for the second straight season in Wednesday’s 2A Region 5 Final. In order to do so, they’ll need to beat #12 (2A) Sumner-Fredericksburg in a neutral-site match at Waverly-Shell Rock, a match that’ll air on 104.9 KLMJ.
The Falcons (35-6) have swept their way through the postseason so far, including 3-0 wins over Lake Mills and Ogden. Overall, they bring an 11-match win streak into the matchup, a streak in which they’ve only lost one set. Head Coach Candace Kleespies says the defense has taken a major leap.
“They just are a really good cohesive unit that just plays really well together,” Kleespies says. “Even though we’ve had to run lots of different lineups this year due to a couple of things, they still have a cohesiveness and they just trust that girl next to them, and knowing where they’re gonna be and what balls they’re gonna pick up, you know, that’s a big part of it. And then defensively is also just a big aspect that I feel like our girls have really increased their level this year. May it just be serve receive, but then just defensively in general too. We’re getting a lot more back touches and just reading the hitters better. And so those are definitely aspects that I feel like the girls have really pushed hard on.”
Sumner-Fredericksburg will go for its third consecutive state tournament appearance, but has had somewhat of a down year at 25-17. The #2-seed in the region, they advanced with a 3-0 sweep of MFL MarMac in the quarterfinal and a 3-1 win over Osage in the semifinal. Brielle Volker leads the team and NICL-East with 4.2 kills per set. Kleespies on the matchup.
“Definitely got to serve aggressively is our main focus that we really, really push. And then defensively, we’ve got to limit Volker as much as we can. She’s going to get her shots, but we’ve got to just limit it as much as we can. And then, we’ve just got to be really smart and disciplined with our defense and then finish balls when we get those off.”
It’ll be the first meeting between the programs since 2022. The Cougars have won all nine meetings since the school joined the NICL in 2014.
Pregame coverage will begin at 6:40 p.m., followed by the first serve at 7:00.
Candace Kleespies interview:
