Pella and Pella Christian are in action tonight as the Little Hawkeye Conference volleyball season begins.

The Lady Dutch won both the regular season and conference tournament titles a year ago, while the cross-town rival Eagles were runners up during the regular season.

Pella Christian coach John Evenhouse says it’s going to be another really tough year in the LHC in 2017.

“Pella’s going to be very good. They have both (Emily) Holterhaus and (Natalie) Clayberg back. They can both hit the ball a ton, better than they did last year. We saw them at the Central camp this summer, and they’re re-stocking quickly. We also saw Indianola at Central and they were really tough, they whipped us pretty good. And we know Dallas Center-Grimes is good every year and Osky is good every year.”

Evenhouse says that if they can finish in the upper half of the Little Hawkeye Conference, they’ll have had a good regular season.

Pella Christian is currently 1-3 after a tough start to the fall Saturday at Ankeny Centennial. They’ll host Oskaloosa this evening on Eagle Lane.

Across town, Pella entertains Grinnell. The Lady Dutch are 6-1 so far this season.