The regional volleyball pairings were announced on Thursday by the Iowa Girls’ High School Athletic Union.
As expected, both Ankeny Centennial and Ankeny earned No. 1 seeds in Class 5A, meaning that the Jaguars and Hawkettes will only have to win two matches–both of them at home–to advance to the state tournament in Coralville.
Second-ranked Centennial (23-5) will host a Region 2 semifinal against Cedar Rapids Jefferson (7-22) or Des Moines North (1-13) on Thursday, Oct. 23 at 7 p.m. Second-seeded Southeast Polk (13-15) will host Linn-Mar (Marion) (10-17) in the other semifinal.
No. 6 Ankeny (21-8) will host a Region 6 semifinal against Marshalltown (11-14) or Des Moines Lincoln (4-15) on Thursday, Oct. 23 at 7 p.m. No. 13 Waterloo West (16-11) is seeded second and will host Cedar Rapids Kennedy (21-13) in the other semifinal.
The regional finals will be played on Tuesday, Oct. 28 at 7 p.m. The highest remaining ranked team in the last IGHSAU rankings will host those matches.
In Class 1A, three-time defending state champion Ankeny Christian Academy is the No. 2 seed in Region 8. The ninth-ranked Eagles (20-11) will host Melcher-Dallas (5-8) in a first-round match on Monday, Oct. 20 at 7 p.m.
ACA will also host the quarterfinal match on Wednesday, Oct. 22 and the semifinal match on Monday, Oct. 27. The Eagles could eventually meet No. 8 BCLUW (23-6) in the regional final on Wednesday, Oct. 29 at a neutral site.