With the state volleyball tournament taking place this week in Cedar Rapids, Pella Christian is on the outside looking in in class 2A.

When coach John Evenhouse took over again as head coach before the 2016 season, he made it clear his goal was to get the Eagles back to state.

They’ve fallen just short in each of his two years at the helm, losing in the regional final both times, including a 3-1 loss last Tuesday to third-ranked Grundy Center.

“What we have to do is we have to get our record a little bit better during the regular season so that we don’t end up playing the third or fourth seeded team in the state in order to get to Cedar Rapids. We have to have a year-long push, and we have to beat some of those real good ball clubs that we play.”

In addition to the loaded Little Hawkeye Conference schedule, which features all 4A and 5A opponents, the majority of Pella Christian’s weekend tournaments featured competition from Iowa’s largest classes.

The Eagles finished the 2017 season with a 21-16 record.