Redhawk junior libero Addison ‘Addy’ Hochstetler digs a ball during North Tama’s home match with Collins-Maxwell on Sept. 26 in Traer. Hochstetler has been dominating in the back row this season, racking up enough digs at one point to sit at No. 1 across all classes statewide. PHOTO BY RUBY F. MCALLISTER

TRAER – There wasn’t a whole lot of competition going on in the Redhawks Nest last Thursday evening as the North Tama volleyball team chewed up Collins-Maxwell 3-0 (25-4, 25-9, 25-8) in quick succession, but it was a welcome respite for the Class 1A No. 9 team as they come down off an incredibly tough first half of the season without their starting setter.

“We’re really front heavy,” head coach Channing Halstead said following the Thursday match in which her girls only allowed the Spartans to score a measly 21 points total. “I try to make our schedule as tough as I can, that way we gain lots of experience to be ready for the postseason. That’s the whole point of our schedule.”

As of this past Monday, the Redhawks were 13-12 overall and second in the Iowa Star-South just behind BCLUW – a record that on paper barely scratches the surface of the Redhawks’ story this season.

“Every team we may have lost to is either ranked in their respective classes or is bigger,” Halstead explained. “Our record doesn’t really reflect how good we are. If we are losing, it’s by two to three points. We’ve only lost to one 1A team. We go to those big school tournaments to learn, for better or worse.”

Such tournaments include the Aug. 31 Class 4A Bondurant-Farrar tournament where they beat Ames and Southeast Polk and gave 2A No.1 Denver a run for their money.

North Tama freshman outside hitter Lily Sell (17) tips the ball over during the Sept. 26 home match against Collins-Maxwell while senior Grace Kennedy (7) looks on. PHOTO BY RUBY F. MCALLISTER

Another challenge the team has had to contend with this season – one completely unforeseen – is playing without their starting setter, senior Zoey Rausch who suffered a concussion right out of the gates in August, unable to return.

“Zoey’s been out since that first weekend,” Halstead said. “So, not only is it a super tough schedule, but literally after that first weekend, we’re having to put something together on the fly. Everything we’ve worked on all summer, all preseason [was] thrown out the window.”

In Rausch’s place, junior Cayleigh Heller – who, before this season, had not played the back row since eighth grade – took on the role of starting setter.

“She’s doing a phenomenal job. She really is,” Halstead said. “She’s really stepped up. She’s setting beautiful balls right now.”

While finding their groove without Rausch has not been easy, Halstead has always coached her athletes to be ready for anything – to take the call and not complain. But she also knows when she’s got a good thing going and this year, that’s certainly junior libero Addison ‘Addy” Hochstetler who has dominated on the courts. Up until this past week, she was No. 1 in the state for number of digs regardless of class.

PHOTO BY RUBY F. MCALLISTER

“Addy’s readability of the ball and just her game sense – it’s what you want,” Halstead said. “I put her in middle back instead of left back just because I let her control the court. Our rule is – if it’s a ball Addy can pass, Addy passes it. It’s not to be mean. That’s what we expect from our libero.”

As of Monday, Sept. 30, Hochstetler had notched 316 digs this season and was No. 2 in Class 1A.

“She is as legit as her numbers show,” Halstead continued. “And she’s getting a lot of attention … as I feel she should. She’s a positive kid, too. She’s our court general and she keeps them all in line.”

After playing a triangular with Meswkai and Tripoli on Tuesday of this week, the Redhawks are scheduled for “a big weekend” in Waterloo this Saturday where they’ll compete in the Columbus Catholic Varsity Invitational. Then it’s a conference match with Baxter, a triangular with Charles City and Janesville, and the Iowa Star Conference tournament before the first round of regionals commences on Oct. 21. At that point, Halstead is hoping Rausch is back to full strength and the rest of her team is ready to navigate fire and water at regionals.

“We’re playing really good volleyball right now – we’ve found our comfort zone. We’ll get our chance when the time matters to prove ourselves.”

PHOTO BY RUBY F. MCALLISTER

Redhawk senior Faith Dvorak serves the ball during the Sept. 26 match with Collins-Maxwell in Traer. PHOTO BY RUBY F. MCALLISTER