The class 4A #14 Knoxville Volleyball Squad will play at the Pella Invitational this Saturday, followed by the Panthers’ own invitational next Saturday. The Panthers for the last several seasons, have used Saturday action to get ready for what they hope is a deep run in the class 4A regionals. Knowing they will likely have to face a ranked team to get to their goal of making the State Tournament, they have upped their Saturday schedule to play more of those 4A and some class 5A squads and have had recent success finishing runner-up at Boone having to beat 5A Ames, and knocked off, at the time #9 Waverly-Shell Rock. Players Emma Dunkin and Payton Horn say the weekend action gives them the best measuring stick of where they are compared to many squads around the area.

Emma: “Saturday is where the biggest competition is. This Saturday we’re playing Pella and Holy Trinity and they’re both really good teams, so we need to see those teams to get us ready for what we’ll face in the regionals.”
Payton: “The Saturday tournaments are where we have the toughest teams and we like that because it give us a chance to play those teams and get ready for those teams.”

This weekend the Panthers will face Pella, West Des Moines Valley, class 1A #10 Holy Trinity, Mediapolis, and class 4A #10 Bondurant-Farrar.