The Norwalk Warrior volleyball team will attempt to make history tonight when they host Sioux City Bishop Heelan in the Class 4A, Region 1 final at 7:00 p.m.

The 10th-ranked Warriors are seeking the school’s first-ever trip to the State Volleyball Tournament after losing at Cedar Rapids Xavier in last year’s regional final round. They face another traditional power tonight in the No. 14 Crusaders, but will be playing on the home floor of the brand new Norwalk PE and Competition Center.

First-year Warriors head coach John Fulton says that his squad is “definitely excited” for the opportunity in front of them.

“We sat down in July and August and wrote down our goals, and every one of these girls wrote down that they wanted to play in the regional final. They wanted a chance to make it to state,” Fulton said. “So to play in front of our home crowd – to play at Norwalk – we’re excited. We’re ready to go.”

Norwalk, now 24-10 overall, advanced to the regional final with a come-from-behind five-set win over Sergeant Bluff-Luton on Thursday night, winning the fifth set 15-9. Bishop Heelan (23-14) swept Le Mars in the first round of 4A regionals before winning at ninth-ranked Lewis Central 3-1 on Thursday.

The Crusaders, who made their 22nd appearance at the State Volleyball Tournament last fall, return several players from that squad. They are a tall team overall with three starters between 6-foot-2 and 5-foot-11, featuring a balanced hitting attack and a strong block.

Fulton says the Warriors must play their best volleyball and control what they can control against Heelan.

“They’re definitely a talented team,” he said. “They’re a tall team. They’re one of the top blocking teams in 4A, so we know we need to be ready to cover. We need to be ready for them to put up a big block and we need to make sure that our offense is running a little quick tempo so we can make them move a little bit.”

Junior outside hitter Noelle Sutcliffe leads Norwalk on the year with 349 kills and 46 ace serves. Additional stat leaders include Liz Iverson with 712 assists, Grace Dehmer 418 digs and Sami Aagard 55 blocks.

Sophomore Maliyah Hacker is Heelan’s kill leader with 291, Grace Nelson has 98 blocks and Maddie LaFleur has registered 257 digs.

This year’s State Volleyball Tournament will be held for the first time at Coralville’s Xtream Arena, scheduled for October 31-November 3.