The Atlantic volleyball team will get their season started on Thursday night with a dual at Des Moines Roosevelt followed by a weekend appearance at the AHSTW Tournament. The Trojans are looking to build off an 11-20 season in 2020 but will need some new faces to fill big roles.

Leading hitter Alyssa Derby has graduated along with assist leader Haley Rasmussen. Those two were also the top two players at the service line and Derby led the team in blocks last season as well. It will be a group of Juniors that will need to lead the way after getting some good experience as sophomores. Lexi Noelck, Aubrey Guyer, and Abby Smith are the most experienced returners. Smith was second on the team with 120 kills last season and Guyer was third with 100. Noelck was second in assists with 169.

The program has seen some gradual improvement and last year saw one of the most competitive top to bottom seasons in quite a while. Now we’ll see if they can take another step. We’ll have an interview with head coach Michelle Blake on Saturday morning for you on KJAN during our Saturday morning coaches show and that will continue throughout the season.

(Radio Iowa) – Cooper DeJean says he is adjusting to the college level as he goes through preseason practice at Iowa. The multi sport standout led OA-BCIG to a state title last fall and has been working at safety for the Hawkeyes.

DeJean says there have been some “freshman” moments along the way.

DeJean has been working at string and free safety and has spent a lot of time with senior Jack Koerner (kerner).

DeJean says he learned quickly how important film study is in college football.

The Hawkeyes open September fourth at home against Indiana.

(Radio Iowa) – Former Iowa defensive lineman Jack Heflin has been battling long odds for much of his career. Heflin is trying to make the Green Bay roster as an undrafted free agent and has impressed in the preseason. He began his college career as a walk-on at Northern Illinois before going to Iowa as a grad transfer.

Heflin says a big reason he signed with Green Bay is because of Packer defensive line coach Jerry Montgomery.

Heflin on if he is feeling pressure as the preseason draws to a close.

2-0 Riverside def. Essex (25-20, 25-18)
2-0 Riverside def. Bedford (25-22, 25-13
2-0 Bedford def. Essex (25-20, 19-25, 15-7)

2-0 Logan-Magnolia def. Heartland Christian (25-9, 25-11)
2-0 Logan-Magnolia def. West Harrison (25-16, 25-12)
2-0 Heartland Christian def. West Harrison

3-0 Clarinda def. Lenox (25-12, 25-18, 25-17)
3-0 Stanton def. Lenox (25-18, 25-15, 25-22)
3-1 Stanton def. Clarinda (19-25, 25-21, 27-25, 26-24).

3-0 Panorama def. I-35 (25-20, 25-11, 25-21)
2-0 Greene County def. Glidden-Ralston (25-22, 25-23)

According to multiple reports the St. Louis Cardinals and catcher Yadier Molina have reached an agreement on a one year contract extension worth $10 million. The two sides have been in heavy talks the past week to bring Molina back for 2022.

The 39-year-old Molina has been a 10 time All-Star in 18 seasons in St. Louis. He has accumulated nine gold gloves and has helped the Redbirds to two World Series titles.

Molina is currently hitting .259 this season and is on pace to become third on the Cardinals all-time hits list.

The AHSTW Vikings are excited for more opportunities to compete on the football field in 2021. All teams dealt with an unusual campaign in 2020 but unfortunately for the Vikings they were affected with the loss of competition. The Vikings got in a total of five contests last season, going 2-3 in the process and enduring a three week stretch of cancellations.  Vikings head coach GG Harris said they have a group that is just excited to get more reps.

The Vikings have a number of players that tasted success in other sports such as basketball, wrestling, and baseball. Coach Harris thinks that success along with their extra work will pay off on the football field.

Coach Harris thinks the Vikings have a chance to be a fast and physical team. He feels like they have a lot of guys that can impact the game on offense but they may be even deeper on defense and that will help them adjust to opponents.

AHSTW opens up the season on Friday night on the road against Western Iowa Conference foe IKM-Manning. We’ll have coverage of that game on KJAN and KJANTV. Chris Parks and Mike Smith will have the call from Manning with pregame at 6:30 p.m. and kickoff at 7:00 p.m.

GREENSBORO, NC & ROSEMONT, IL & SAN FRANCISCO, CA – The ACC, Big Ten and Pac-12 today announced an historic alliance that will bring 41 world-class institutions together on a collaborative approach surrounding the future evolution of college athletics and scheduling.

The alliance – which was unanimously supported by the presidents, chancellors and athletics directors at all 41 institutions – will be guided in all cases by a commitment to, and prioritization of, supporting student-athlete well-being, academic and athletic opportunities, experiences and diverse educational programming. The three conferences are grounded in their support of broad-based athletic programs, the collegiate model and opportunities for student-athletes as part of the educational missions of the institutions.

The three conferences remain competitors in every sense but are committed to collaborating and providing thought leadership on various opportunities and challenges facing college athletics, including:

• Student-athlete mental and physical health, safety, wellness and support
• Strong academic experience and support
• Diversity, equity and inclusion
• Social justice
• Gender equity
• Future structure of the NCAA
• Federal legislative efforts
• Postseason championships and future formats

The alliance includes a scheduling component for football and women’s and men’s basketball designed to create new inter-conference games, enhance opportunities for student-athletes, and optimize the college athletics experience for both student-athletes and fans across the country. The scheduling alliance will begin as soon as practical while honoring current contractual obligations. A working group comprised of athletic directors representing the three conferences will oversee the scheduling component of the alliance, including determining the criteria upon which scheduling decisions will be made. All three leagues and their respective institutions understand that scheduling decisions will be an evolutionary process given current scheduling commitments.

The football scheduling alliance will feature additional attractive matchups across the three conferences while continuing to honor historic rivalries and the best traditions of college football.

In women’s and men’s basketball, the three conferences will add early and mid-season games as well as annual events that feature premier matchups between the three leagues.

The three conferences will also explore opportunities for the vast and exceptional Olympic Sports programs to compete more frequently and forge additional attractive and meaningful rivalries.

See the full release here: ACC-Big Ten- PAC 12 Alliance

2021 Preseason Iowa High School Volleyball Rankings
Compiled by the Iowa Girls High School Athletic Union
Monday, August 23, 2021

Class 1A
School 2020 Record
1 Burlington Notre Dame 19-5
2 Springville 27-5
3 New London 22-8
4 Gladbrook-Reinbeck 34-4
5 Gehlen Catholic 25-6
6 Newell-Fonda 27-4
7 Southeast Warren 25-1
8 Council Bluffs St. Albert 15-14
9 Holy Trinity Catholic 26-10
10 Lisbon 26-5
11 MMCRU 22-6
12 Belle Plaine 26-9
13 Tripoli 18-14
14 Lamoni 20-5
15 Janesville 28-5

Class 2A
School 2020 Record
1 Dike-New Hartford 32-4
2 Denver 35-6
3 Western Christian 33-10
4 Wilton 33-4
5 Wapsie Valley 20-7
6 South Hardin 21-15
7 Kuemper Catholic 21-11
8 Sumner-Fredericksburg 27-8
9 Osage 34-2
10 Grundy Center 20-18
11 Boyden-Hull 24-8
12 Beckman Catholic 29-10
13 Lake Mills 25-10
14 Columbus Catholic 19-16
15 Starmont 19-13

Class 3A
School Record
1 Sergeant Bluff-Luton 23-7
2 West Delaware 30-12
3 Davenport Assumption 23-3
4 Des Moines Christian 24-14
5 Unity Christian 23-6
6 Red Oak 30-5
7 Sheldon 15-14
8 West Burlington 18-4
9 West Liberty 26-7
10 Mount Vernon 32-7
11 Independence 25-8
12 Union 32-10
13 Sioux Center 22-12
14 Roland-Story 23-8
15 Nevada 21-16

Class 4A
School 2020 Record
1 North Scott 22-5
2 Waverly-Shell Rock 38-9
3 Western Dubuque 25-11
4 Glenwood 32-3
5 Oskaloosa 21-8
6 Xavier 26-6
7 Marion 21-12
8 Clear Creek-Amana 25-6
9 Pella 23-12
10 Indianola 12-13
11 Bondurant-Farrar 24-11
12 Lewis Central 19-7
13 North Polk 21-13
14 Clinton 17-13
15 Norwalk 18-18

Class 5A
School 2020 Record
1 Iowa City Liberty 24-3
2 Pleasant Valley 21-2
3 Ankeny 22-2
4 Ankeny Centennial 16-10
5 Cedar Falls 26-6
6 West Des Moines Valley 19-7
7 Johnston 19-15
8 Cedar Rapids Kennedy 15-16
9 Urbandale 11-8
10 Dowling Catholic 22-3
11 Iowa City West 13-15
12 Sioux City East 22-7
13 Bettendorf 12-7
14 Des Moines Roosevelt 7-4
15 Cedar Rapids Prairie 18-15

Class 5A
1. Southeast Polk vs #2 Dowling Catholic
2. Dowling Catholic @ #1 S.E. Polk
3. Cedar Falls @ #10 Johnston
4. Pleasant Valley @ CR Prairie
5. Ankeny vs Waukee
6. WDM Valley vs Waukee Northwest
7. Bettendorf vs Urbandale
8. Cedar Rapids Kennedy @ #9 Iowa City West
9. Iowa City West vs #8 Kennedy
10.Johnston vs #3 Cedar Falls

Class 4A
1. North Scott vs Davenport North
2. Lewis Central @ 3A #2 Harlan
3. Cedar Rapids Xavier @ 3A #1 West Delaware
4. Webster City vs 3A #8 Humboldt
5. Pella @ #10 Norwalk
6. Decorah @ Crestwood
7. Glenwood @ Atlantic
8. Fort Dodge vs Mason City
9. Indianola vs Ankeny Centennial
10.Norwalk vs #5 Pella

Class 3A
1. West Delaware vs 4A #3 Xavier
2. Harlan vs 4A #2 Lewis Central
3. Davenport Assumption @ Rock Island Alleman
4. Boyden-Hull/Rock Valley vs 2A #1 Central Lyon/GLR
5. Sergeant Bluff-Luton vs LeMars
6. Solon vs West Liberty
7. Ballard (Huxley) @ Bondurant-Farrar
8. Humboldt @ 4A #4 Webster City
9. Sioux Center vs Sheldon
10.Gilbert @ Adel (ADM)

Class 2A
1. Central Lyon/GLR @ 3A #4 Boyden-Hull/Rock Valley
2. Waukon vs Waverly-Shell Rock
3. Williamsburg @ 1A #3 Iowa City Regina
4. West Lyon vs 1A #9 Western Christian
5. PCM (Monroe) vs Davis County
6. West Marshall @ South Tama
7. Southeast Valley vs Interstate-35
8. Clear Lake vs Iowa Falls
9. Estherville Lincoln Central @ Storm Lake
10.Camanche vs Dyersville Beckman

Class 1A
1. Van Meter vs Earlham
2. West Sioux @ A #9 HMS (Hartley)
3. Iowa City Regina vs 2A #3 Williamsburg
4. Underwood vs Tri-Center
5. Waterloo Columbus vs Dike-New Hartford
6. South Central Calhoun @ East Sac County
7. MFL MarMac vs New Hampton
8. Pella Christian @ DSM Christian
9. Western Christian @ 2A #4 West Lyon
10.Cascade @ Monticello

Class A
1. Grundy Center vs South Hardin
2. Council Bluffs St. Albert @ Treynor
3. West Hancock @ Garner-Hayfield-Ventura
4. Logan-Magnolia vs Carroll Kuemper
5. Saint Ansgar vs Osage
6. Lisbon vs West Branch
7. Mason City Newman vs Central Springs
8. Bellevue @ Northeast
9. HMS (Hartley) vs 1A #2 West Sioux
10.Mount Ayr @ Nodaway Valley

8-Player
1. Don Bosco @ #7 Easton Valley
2. Montezuma (1-0) @ HLV
3. CAM (Anita) @ #9 Fremont-Mills
4. Audubon @ S.E. Warren
5. Remsen St. Mary’s vs Harris-Lake Park
6. Newell-Fonda vs West Bend-Mallard
7. Easton Valley vs #1 Don Bosco
8. Janesville @ Meskwaki
9. Fremont-Mills vs #3 CAM
10.Kingsley-Pierson vs GTRA

(Radio Iowa) – Iowa center Tyler Linderbaum says he is focused on improvement and not individual accolades heading into the season. A finalist for the Rimington Trophy last year, Linderbaum has been named an AP preseason first team All-American.

Linderbaum says it was an easy decision to return to Iowa and not enter the NFL Draft.

Linderbaum says new offensive line coach George Barnett has been focused on consistency.

The Hawkeyes open at home on September fourth against Indiana.