Regional Volleyball Preview: 1A Region 3- Bottom Bracket

Here's part two of our preview on Class 1A Region 3 volleyball. This time, we'll preview the bottom half of the bracket.

Walnut Warriors @ Stanton Viqueens- Stanton High School- 7 p.m.

This will be the third meeting for both teams this season. The Viqueens have won the first two meetings, which took place Sept. 3 at the Missouri Valley Tournament and Sept. 24 at the Bedford Tournament.

Stanton is 29-1 up to this point in the season. Their lone loss was against Missouri Valley at the Missouri Valley Tournament.

Since the loss, the Viqueens have won 24 straight and tournament titles at Bedford, Farragut and Shenandoah. Earlier this month, Stanton won their eighth straight Corner Conference title.

The Viqueens have lost five games since Sept. 6. In fact, Stanton has not dropped a game since Sept. 24 against East Union.

To assure their spot in the quarterfinals, Stanton will focus their intentions on Walnut. The Warriors (14-15) have lost three of their last five matches.

Walnut has wins over East Greene, Orient-Macksburg, Lamoni, Cumberland Anita Massena and Woodbine.

For Stanton, Carmen Subbert and Rachel Sorensen lead the attack. Subbert is second, while Sorensen is fourth in the Corner Conference in the kills category. Subbert is also tied for third in the Conference in digs with 229.

Haley Blum and Lauren Sievers lead the attack for the Warriors. Blum (160) and Sievers (156) are 1-2 on the team in kills.

East Mills Wolverines @ Riverside Bulldogs- Riverside High School

Both teams have lost their last couple of matches. East Mills has lost their last two, while Riverside (8-19) has lost three straight. This will be the first meeting of the season for East Mills and Riverside.

The Wolverines (7-17) lost nine of their first 10 matches. Momentum did pick up for East Mills as they had wins over Clarinda Academy, Fremont-Mills, Heartland Christian, Sidney and Mount Ayr.

Amanda Bazer is the player to watch for East Mills Wednesday night. Bazer leads the team and is sixth in the Corner Conference in kills with 182.

Shayley Smith, Riverside's 6'5" senior hitter, leads the Bulldog offensive attack. Smith is eighth in the Western Iowa Conference in kills with 161. Defensively, Smith leads Class 1A in blocks with 140.

The winner of East Mills/Riverside will face the winner of Stanton/Walnut, next Tuesday in Stanton.

Essex Trojanettes @ Nishnabotna Blue Devils- Nishnabotna High School in Farragut

Nishnabotna has two wins over the Trojanettes this season. Their most recent win came Oct. 13, 3-0, against Essex.

The Blue Devils (19-7) have played solid volleyball this season. They finished 5-2 in the conference and placed second at the Corner Conference Tournament.

Nishnabotna has wins over Villisca, Fremont-Mills, Sidney and East Mills.

Essex won five straight matches at one point during the season. The Trojanettes did finish fourth at the Corner Conference Tournament earlier this month. However, Essex has lost seven straight.

Jody Shough, who is a likely candidate for first team all-conference, leads the Blue Devils attack. Shough leads the Corner Conference in kills with 226. The senior had 12 kills against Essex in Nishnabotna's Oct. 13 win.

Haley Fundermann and Kym Graham lead the charge for Essex. Fundermann and Graham are 1-2 on the team in kills.

Sidney Cowgirls @ Fremont-Mills Knights- Fremont-Mills High School

Sidney has won once during the season. Their lone victory came against Clarinda Academy Oct. 13.

The Knights have won both meetings against Sidney this season. Their most recent win against the Cowgirls was Sept. 27.

The winner of Sidney/Fremont-Mills will play the winner of Nishnabotna/Essex.

There will be more on many of these matches in the Oct. 25 edition of the Red Oak Express.