Five set thriller advances Humboldt volleyball to state

By: Donovan W. Mann – [email protected]

Schaller, IA – Humboldt High School volleyball is advancing to the state tournament following a victory in the region finals.

On Tuesday, Oct. 27, Humboldt Wildcat volleyball faced MOC-Floyd Valley in the Iowa Class 3A Region 2 Championship Match. It was a victory for Humboldt as the match proved to be a thriller that needed five sets and some extra points to decide a winner.

Humboldt took sets one, 25-21, and two, 25-20, to take control early. MOC-Floyd Valley battled back hard to win set three 25-21 and set four 25-23 to force a fifth and decisive set.

MOC jumped out to an early advantage in the final set but Humboldt battled back and took a multiple point lead near the 10 point mark. MOCFV  would get the first chance to end it, however, taking a 14-12 lead. The Wildcats found a way to tie and force extra serves. Ultimately it was Humboldt winning the fifth set 18-16 and the match three sets to two.

Humboldt’s Kendal Clark led the way for the Wildctas with 29 kills on 49 attempts with five errors (.490 attack percentage) to go with 39 digs. Jori Hajek for Humboldt put up 21 kills with 37 digs while Setter Deni McDaniel recorded 61 assists in the match.

A final stat report from the Class 3A Region 2 Finals can be found on Varsity Bound.

With the win Humboldt volleyball has made it to the state tournament for the first time in program history. Their record is now 33-3. The Wildcats will open their state tournament run by facing the top ranked team in Iowa Class 3A Osage Monday, Nov. 2, at 8 pm at the Alliant Energy PowerHouse in Cedar Rapids, IA.

Featured photo courtesy of Rick Thompson