AUDIO: GHV Volleyball Enjoying Historic Season

Thirty-two years ago, in 1984, the Garner-Hayfield Cardinals volleyball team began their season with seven straight wins, a school record. That same year, the Cardinals set another record for consecutive wins in a season, with 12. They say records are meant to be broken.

This year, the Garner-Hayfield-Ventura volleyball team started the season with 27 straight wins before eventually falling, smashing both records set by the 1984 team.

Led by 4th-year head coach Mikayla Roth and a roster loaded with experience and upperclassmen, this year’s Cardinals team has the most wins since a 27-win 2013 season.

Senior Captain Emma Schumacher says the season has been surreal and the team’s success is because they play for each other.

Since Mikayla Roth took over as the head coach of the Cardinals volleyball team prior to the 2023 season, she’s accumulated a 77-32 overall record, with a 20-12 conference record, highlighted by a runner-up finish last season in GHV’s final season as a member of the Top of Iowa Conference. The Cardinals, along with fellow former TIC members Forest City and Eagle Grove, moved to the North Central Conference at the start of the school year, marking a massive shift for a team that suddenly went from one of the biggest teams in their conference to one of the smallest. Senior Captain Sadie Britson says the conference change has challenged the team.

Last season, the Cardinals were on a roll at the end of the season, winning 10 of their final 11 games heading into postseason play. However, despite an 18-7 overall record and a 6-2 TIC record, the Cardinals were given a tough draw for their first-round postseason matchup, having to head two hours east to Calmar to face South Winneshiek, a match they would end up losing 3-1. Disappointed with how the season ended, this year’s GHV team came into the season hungry. Senior Captain Kailyn Byom says she knew this year’s team was special during the summer.

One of the biggest advantages this year’s Cardinals team has over many teams throughout the state is retention, as last year’s squad did not feature any seniors. As a result, this year’s Cardinals team is constructed entirely of juniors and seniors, all of whom played together last year; a rare advantage that Emma Schumacher says has helped the team further develop its chemistry.

That experience has been key for the Cardinals, especially up front. Sadie Britson is one of the three main hitters in the front row for GHV, and she says that having Kailyn Byom as the setter has not only helped her improve, but the entire team.

Kailyn already has over 500 assists this season, and recently reached 1,000 assists in her career at the Northwood-Kensett triangular on October 1. Her impact on the court for the Cardinals has been very noticeable, as she currently sits 5th in 2A in assists and 7th in 2A in assists per set. Watching her, she makes setting look easy, but as she says, a lot goes into picking where she sets the ball.

This season, GHV’s team hitting efficiency currently sits about 50 points higher than it was last year, which Coach Roth says is a testament to the team’s confidence and depth up front.

As solid as the Cardinals have been on the attack, their defense shines just as bright. Of nearly 350 volleyball teams in the state of Iowa, GHV currently ranks 16th in total digs, good for 6th in Class 2A. Senior Captain Reese Schleusner led the Cardinals a year ago with 66 blocks, but this year moved to playing in the back row as well; a move that has taken her defense to another level. While her blocks per set are nearly identical to last season, her digs per set have more than doubled. Reese on how her defense has changed this season.

Coach Roth says Schleusner’s move to the back row this season has been a good adjustment for the team, as it has helped the team become more strategic with substitutions and libero usage.

It’s not only the upperclassmen that are having a positive impact on the team. With a 26-game win streak to begin the season, it could be easy for the Cardinals to be on autopilot during their practices, but Coach Roth says it’s the underclassmen who have been pivotal in keeping the team on their toes.

Winning isn’t easy, especially facing unfamiliar teams, in an unfamiliar gym, as has often been the case with the Cardinals’ move to the North Central Conference this season. Winning is even harder when you have a zero or one in the loss column, and teams dig a little deeper to try to hand you a loss. Despite the Cardinals’ undefeated start to the season, it took them almost an entire month to find themselves ranked in Class 2A. They finally cracked the rankings at #15 on September 24 after a 17-0 start to the season. Currently, GHV is ranked #14 in Class 2A, with a record of 27-1. Despite the lower-than-average ranking for a team with their record, Reese Schleusner says the Cardinals actually enjoy flying under the radar.

For Coach Roth, rankings have a little more of an impact, as they are part of the criteria the Iowa Girls High School Athletic Union uses to determine Regional pairings for postseason play. A higher ranking gives teams a better chance for home postseason matches, as well as a more favorable seed in their bracket. Coach Roth pointed to her team’s schedule as the main reason why the Cardinals may still be flying under the radar.

The Cardinals were able to take down Saint Ansgar, the defending Class 1A champions, at the Bishop Garrigan Tournament 2-1. Still, the Cardinals’ toughest opponent on their schedule this season is still upcoming, 3A #6 Humboldt, who currently sit at 27-3 overall. However, that match will not factor into the Cardinals’ season résumé, as the postseason regional pairings will be released just a few hours before the Cardinals take on Humboldt and Algona in Humboldt for an NCC Quad with Forest City on October 8. 

Those two matches against Humboldt and Algona are the final matches standing between the Cardinals and the first team goal they set this season, as Emma Schumacher explains.

Over the last ten seasons, GHV has only won three postseason matches, all coming as members of Class 3A: 3-0 over Hampton-Dumont-CAL in 2016, 3-2 over Hampton-Dumont-CAL in 2020, and most recently 3-2 over Algona in 2021. This year’s squad will be looking to advance in the postseason for the first time in five years, and maybe even punch their ticket to the state tournament for the first time in school history.

However the season ends for the Cardinals, Coach Roth says that this team, led by the seniors, has left a permanent mark on GHV Volleyball. A mark that will remain with the program for years to come.

With GHV’s depth, experience, and positional flexibility, combined with the group’s heart and determination to win, the best is still to come for this year’s Cardinals team.