Three Cardinals earn LHC volleyball honors

Three Newton High Cardinal volleyball players earned Little Hawkeye Conference honors for the 2018 season. A team powered by underclassmen as the Cardinals only had one senior on the squad had two sophomores and a junior recognized by the LHC coaches.

Sophomore setter Kate Callaghan garnered All-LHC second-team honors for the second straight season. Junior outside hitter Madi Amos and sophomore middle hitter Megan Callaghan received honorable mention honors.

Newton went 0-7 in LHC regular-season play. Indianola was the conference champion at 7-0 followed by Pella at 6-1 and Dallas Center-Grimes at 5-2.

Pella Christian took fourth, Norwalk was fifth at 3-4 followed by Oskaloosa at 2-5 and Grinnell at 1-6.

The conference had two teams reach the Class 4A state volleyball tournament — Dallas Center-Grimes and Pella. Both were eliminated by Cedar Rapids Xavier — Pella in the opening round and DCG in Thursday’s semifinal round.

Indianola and DCG each had three players named to the All-LHC first team and Pella had two players selected by the conference coaches. Grinnell, Norwalk, Oskaloosa and Pella Christian each had one first-team selection.

Kate Callaghan led the Cardinals in kills, set assists, serving percentage, ace serves and total blocks for the season. In LHC matches, the 5-foot-8 sophomore had 65 kills and 65 set assists for Newton. She made five solo blocks and one assisted block.

She went 72-of-75 from the service line with 11 aces. She also had 75 digs.

For the season, Kate Callaghan finished with 164 set assists and 147 kills. She had 13 solo blocks and 10 assisted blocks. She was a 95-percent server, going 166-of-175 with 20 ace serves. She was second on the team in digs with 158.

Amos was a 5-6 junior outside hitter for the Cardinals. Against LHC teams, Amos had 20 kills and 95 digs. She served up two aces while going 43-of-46 at the service line.

Overall, Amos led the team with 190 digs. She had 49 kills and 20 set assists plus one block assist at the net. She was 138-of 149 serving for 93 percent, and was second on the team with 13 service aces.

Meg Callaghan, a 5-10 sophomore middle hitter/blocker, finished tied for fourth in the LHC with eight solo blocks in regular-season play. She had 50 kills and nine digs. She went 57-of-59 serving in conference matches with six aces.

Meg Callaghan led Newton for the season with 15 solo blocks. She also had five assisted blocks. She was second in kills with 107 and had 26 digs. Meg Callaghan went 121-of-131 serving for 92 percent and served up 12 aces.

Little Hawkeye Conference

Final 2018 Volleyball Standings

Team Conference Overall

Indianola 7-0 29-15

Pella 6-1 31-7

Dallas Center-Grimes 5-2 36-5

Pella Christian 4-3 20-18

Norwalk 3-4 20-21

Oskaloosa 2-5 12-19

Grinnell 1-6 15-20

Newton 0-7 4-22

Little Hawkeye Conference

2018 All-Conference Volleyball Teams

First Team

Kathleen Knudsen, Dallas Center-Grimes, Jr., outside hitter

Abigail Greiman, Dallas Center-Grimes, Sr., middle hitter

Dakota Miles, Dallas Center-Grimes, Sr., libero

Macy Harris, Grinnell, Sr., outside hitter

Regan Bishop, Indianola, Sr., libero

Anna Marvelli, Indianola, Jr., outside hitter/setter

Mary McGinnis, Sr., outside hitter

Camryn Gilchrist, Norwalk, Jr., outside hitter

Faith De Ronde, Oskaloosa, Fr., outside hitter

Emily Holterhaus, Pella, Sr., middle hitter

Natalie Clayberg, Pella, Sr., outside hitter

Emma Huisman, Pella Christian, Sr., setter

Second Team

Kate Callaghan, Newton, So., setter

Tiffany Denger, Dallas Center-Grimes, Sr., middle hitter

Emma Bishop, Indianola, Sr., right side hitter

Lauren Blake, Indianola, Fr., setter

Samantha Hoover, Norwalk, Jr., middle hitter

Taylor Willis, Oskaloosa, Jr., outside hitter

Kennady Klein, Pella, Sr., libero

Jenna Schulte, Pella, Sr., middle hitter

Mary Kate Bandstra, Pella Christian, Sr., libero

Honorable Mention: Newton-junior Madi Amos, sophomore Meg Callaghan; Dallas Center-Grimes-Hannah Ashley, Kamryn O'Brien; Grinnell-Megan Doty, Kiana Kies; Norwalk-Emily Ellis, Madison Zimmerman; Oskaloosa-Emma Kelderman, Jolie Young; Pella-Anna Vander Waal, Bailey Van Voorst; Pella Christian-Ivy Terpstra, Danielle Vande Voort.

Contact Jocelyn Sheets at
641-792-3121 ext. 6535 or jsheets@newtondailynews.com