The Iowa Girls High School Athletic Union released its 2022 regional volleyball pairings on Friday, and it was good news for Norwalk and Indianola.

The Warriors, who moved up one spot to eighth in the latest Class 4A rankings, will be the top seed in 4A Region 1 and won’t have to leave Norwalk to qualify for the state tournament.

Norwalk has earned a first round bye for Tuesday, October 18, then will host either Glenwood or Sergeant Bluff-Luton on Thursday, October 20, at 7:00 p.m. If the Warriors win, they will host one of three teams in the Region 1 final October 25: 11th-ranked Lewis Central, No. 15 Bishop Heelan or Le Mars.

If Norwalk is to make a strong run to state this year, head coach John Fulton believes the Warriors’ back row trio of libero Grace Dehmer, Katie Larson and Dakota Poen will be one of the big reasons why. Fulton calls Dehmer one of the best all-around liberos he has coached, and says that Larson and Poen feed off each other’s energy and passion.

“It is awesome to see three back row players that work so well together and are always pushing each other and complementing each other and doing a great job for us in the back row,” Fulton said. “It is tough to find hard wood against us because we just cover so much ground in the back row.”

The fifth-ranked Indianola Indians, meanwhile, are the top seed in Class 4A, Region 2 and will host either Winterset or Creston on Thursday, October 20. Region 2 also includes No. 12 ADM, Boone and Denison-Schleswig. With a semifinal round win, Indianola would host the regional final on October 25.