Members of the Class 1A No. 6 North Tama volleyball team pictured Saturday, Oct. 17, at the Iowa Star Conference Volleyball Tournament in Janesville with their first-place trophy. Following the tournament, sophomore outside hitter Alaney Sienknecht, back row–third from right, was named 2026 Iowa Star-South Division Co-Player of the Year. PHOTO COURTESY OF CHANNING HALSTEAD

JANESVILLE – The Class 1A No. 6 North Tama netters headed to Janesville last weekend for their final regular season appearance where they aced the assignment — taking home the 2026 Iowa Star Conference Volleyball Tournament title by knocking down three ranked teams, including the fourth-ranked hosts.

The Redhawks competed in the gold bracket where they swiftly swept Class 1A No. 9 Cedar Ridge Christian, 2-0, in the opening round with sets of 21-16 and 21-9.

In the semifinal round, North Tama faced Class 1A No. 4 Janesville. While the Wildcats managed to pick up the first set (21-15), North Tama won the next two sets (21-19, 15-13) for the match.

In the gold bracket championship round, the Redhawks played Class 1A No. 7 Dunkerton – a program they have not faced since 2023, per Bound. North Tama took the first set handily, 21-13, but the Raiders mounted a charge in the second. Play went into overtime before the Redhawks claimed victory in 24-22, earning the tournament championship.

In the third place match, Janesville defeated Class 1A No. 12 BCLUW, 2-0, for bronze.

Statistics were not available in time for publication for the championship match. Across the first two matches, North Tama’s offense was led by outside hitters Lily Sill and Alaney Sienknecht, who recorded 24 and 18 kills, respectively. Middle hitter Kahlia Even contributed six. Setter Isabelle Gropper totaled 41 assists.

The Redhawk defense was led by Gropper and defensive specialist Grace Dvorak with 13 digs apiece. Sienknecht added another 11, while defensive specialists Kaeler Ewoldt had nine and Harper Rausch eight. Gropper led North Tama at the service line with eight aces.

North Tama closed out the regular season second in the Iowa Star South Division at 27-13, 6-1 – just behind BCLUW (30-14, 7-0).

This past Monday, North Tama moved up three spots in the Iowa Girls High School Athletic Union’s rankings to No. 3 in Class 1A. Tonight, Wednesday, Oct. 21, the Redhawks are set to begin the postseason, playing a Class 1A Region 6 quarterfinal match at home in Traer against Keota (12-7), the winner of Monday’s opening round match with Don Bosco (11-23). A victory tonight will send North Tama to the regional semifinals set for this coming Monday, Oct. 26, also in Traer.

The Class 1A Region 6 championship match will be played at a neutral site, Wednesday, Oct. 28, at 7 p.m.

Telegraph Note: This story is publishing online ahead of this Friday’s print edition.

Iowa Star-South Division All-Conference honors

Following the Iowa Star Conference tournament, North Tama sophomore Alaney Sienknecht was named the 2026 Iowa Star-South Division Player of the Year alongside BCLUW senior outside hitter Raine Sierno. As of presstime, Sienknecht led the South Division in kills with 408; she was No. 2 in Class 1A and tied for No. 9 across all classes. Her teammate and fellow outside hitter, junior Lily Sell was No. 2 in the ISS with 341, while Sierno was No. 3 with 247. Additionally, Sienknecht was No. 4 in the ISS in digs with 229.

Three Redhawks were first-team Iowa Star-South picks this season, including Sienknecht, Sell, and junior setter Isabelle Gropper. Second-team honors went to senior defensive specialist Grace Dvorak and senior middle hitter Kahlia Even.

North Tama senior Jessica Morrison was the team’s 2026 honorable mention selection.

Coach of the Year honors were shared among Baxter’s Kay Wing and Dana Bucklin, and BCLUW’s Megan Yantis.

Telegraph Note: This story is publishing online ahead of the Friday, Oct. 30, print edition.