Seeking their 11th State Tournament berth in the program’s history, the Class 2A #9 Pella Christian volleyball team squares off with #8 Iowa City Regina in the regional championship tonight at Grinnell High School.

Both the Eagles and the Regals earned sweeps in the quarterfinals and semifinals on the road to Xtream Arena in Coralville. Pella Christian swept Earlham 25-8, 25-18, 25-16 and Pleasantville 25-14, 25-13, 25-13; while Iowa City Regina swept West Branch 25-12, 25-16, 25-17 and North Mahaska 25-20, 25-18, 25-21. In addition to sharing sweeps in their first two postseason games, both teams have two opponents in common. The Eagles earned a pair of 2-0 sweeps over North Mahaska and Grinnell this season, while the Regals had the 3-0 sweep over the Warhawks and a 2-0 sweep over the Tigers. 

Regina is led offensively by sophomore Nora Wilhelm and junior Reese Naeve. Wilhelm has run the Regals attack by dishing out 883 assists on the season, with Naeve being the biggest recipient of those passes with 694 kills to lead the state. Regina is also solid on the back line, ranking second in Class 2A with 1,813 digs. Sophomore libero Addison Bollier leads the Regals defense in digs, ranking seventh in the state with 643 on the season.

First serve for tonight’s Class 2A Region 8 Championship match between Pella Christian and Iowa City Regina at Grinnell High School is slated for 7 pm.