Waukee Northwest Among No. 1 Teams In Iowa High School Preseason Top 25 Rankings

Norwalk, Cherokee, Grundy Center, Janesville will also start the year off in the top spots of their respective classes.

Iowa high school volleyball preseason rankings have been released. | IGHSAU

The Iowa Girls High School Athletic Union has released preseason volleyball rankings for the upcoming season.

In Class 5A, defending state champion Waukee Northwest will begin the season where it finished: as the No. 1 team. Last year, Waukee Northwest topped Ankeny Centennial for the title.

Iowa City West, Ankeny, Dallas Center-Grimes and Dowling Catholic round out the Top 5 in the state’s largest classification.

Norwalk, Cherokee, Grundy Center, Janesville All Earn No. 1 Rankings

Other No. 1 teams include Norwalk in Class 4A, Cherokee in Class 3A, Grundy Center in Class 2A and Janesville in Class 1A.

High School On SI Iowa recently released a list of top returning volleyball players in the state.

Defending Class 3A State Champions Bumped Up To Class 4A

Davenport Assumption, who claimed the Class 3A title over Humboldt last fall, is now in Class 4A. They open the 2026 season ranked 12th, as the Wildcats are the No. 2 team in Class 3A.

North Scott, the defending Class 4A state champions, are not included in the rankings. The Lancers stunned Lewis Central in the finals last season. The Titans start the year ranked 13th.

Second Reigning State Champion Not Included In Preseason Top 15 For Its Class

Denver, the Class 2A reigning champs, are ranked 15th while Saint Ansgar, who won it all in Class 1A, is not ranked like North Scott.

Here are the preseason Top 15 for each of the five classes of Iowa high school volleyball from the Iowa Girls High School Athletic Union.

Iowa High School Volleyball Preseason Rankings

Class 5A

1. Waukee Northwest
2. Iowa City West
3. Ankeny
4. Dallas Center-Grimes
5. Dowling Catholic
6. Cedar Rapids Kennedy
7. Iowa City Liberty
8. Pleasant Valley
9. Indianola
10. Ankeny Centennial
11. Cedar Falls
12. Waukee
13. West Des Moines Valley
14. Cedar Rapids Prairie
15. Johnston

Class 4A

1. Norwalk
2. Sioux Center
3. Sioux City Bishop Heelan
4. Western Dubuque
5. Clear Creek-Amana
6. Waverly-Shell Rock
7. Marion
8. Sergeant Bluff-Luton
9. Ballard
10. Pella
11. North Polk
12. Davenport Assumption
13. Lewis Central
14. Burlington
15. Glenwood

Class 3A

1. Cherokee
2. Humboldt
3. Western Christian
4. Dike-New Hartford
5. MOC-Floyd Valley
6. Carroll Kuemper Catholic
7. Mount Vernon
8. Wilton
9. Roland-Story
10. Algona
11. Center Point-Urbana
12. Knoxville
13. Tipton
14. Solon
15. Van Meter

Class 2A

1. Grundy Center
2. Union
3. Dyersville Beckman
4. Riverside
5. Woodward-Granger
6. Hudson
7. Hinton
8. Aplington-Parkersburg
9. Central Lyon
10. Iowa City Regina Catholic
11. Red Oak
12. Jesup
13. Lake Mills
14. Missouri Valley
15. Denver

Class 1A

1. Janesville
2. Wapsie Valley
3. Holy Trinity Catholic
4. Ankeny Christian
5. Sidney
6. Dunkerton
7. Wapello
8. Boyden-Hull
9. Cedar Ridge Christian
10. North Tama
11. BCLUW
12. Gladbrook-Reinbeck
13. East Mills
14. Remsen St. Mary’s
15. West Monona