The second volleyball rankings were released yesterday as compiled by the Iowa Girls High School Athletic Union and I have to say I was slightly taken aback when I was browsing through the updated list.

Let's just say that my sister - a junior at Pella Christian High - received a scathing review as soon as I saw her squad's ranking. Unfortunately, the dedicated athlete was in practice, so her voicemail got quite a nasty message.

Before I delve into that, let me give a little background. I love my little sister and I'd like to call myself her biggest fan. I can't, because of my father. See, he lives with her, therefore has a huge advantage in seeing all of her games; plus, he is not a sports editor and therefore does not have any other teams to follow. I have seven high schools. That's seven volleyball teams, seven football teams and a lot of cross country teams-slash-runners. So my dad is probably her most attentive fan. But I am still her favorite.

Now, the Pella Christian squad was ranked #2 in the preseason rankings released on September 2 (I think that's when they were released...) The top seed went to Dike-New Hartford, an eastern Iowa volleyball powerhouse who knocked off my sister's team last fall in the semi-final game at state...by two points in game five. The saddest part is PC scored more points in the whole match than D-NH, but the Eagles came up too short in one game, and couldn't quite bounce back. Of course, D-NH dropped the championship game to Western Christian, the most feared name in volleyball in Northwest Iowa.

But here is the problem I have with the new rankings. This week, Pella Christian dropped from No. 2 to No. 4 due to an early season loss last weekend to Class 4A's No. 6 Urbandale - by two points in game three of the championship game at the Ames tournament. Since this is a quality loss - to a school two classes higher that is ranked - the Eagles maintain a high ranking, however the undefeated Western Wolfpack moved up to No. 2, followed by another volleyball powerhouse, IKM-Manning.

So now, my problem. In Northwest Iowa, volleyball competition is huge, I will admit. However, it seems the caliber of 3A and 4A volleyball powerhouses are in the east and central portions of the state, namely Iowa City, Cedar Rapids and Des Moines metro areas. Western Christian will likely maintain a perfect - or nearly perfect - record and I'm willing to bet that they will have more wins this season than Pella Christian. But they will not play the same caliber of teams as Pella Christian will face in their rigid schedule. Western will play mostly 2A and some 3A schools, while Pella Christian does not have a 2A school in its conference - or on its schedule. The Eagles will play in tournaments at Ames, Iowa City West, Southeast Polk, Knoxville, Johnston...all tournaments featuring a multitude of ranked squads. If you will compare this to the number of ranked and high caliber squads the Wolfpack will face, I think Western will come up short. Of course, we can settle much of this on October 11, when Pella Christian graces Northwest Iowa to compete in Western's tournament. But the real test will come in the state championship.

And the big question will be, Can Western Christian contain the power and superstrength of Jana Van Zanten and her surrounding core of super killers?

Maybe we should ask my sister about the strength of the all-state senior. Now my little sister may not be the brightest crayon in the box, but she is definitely the most entertaining. And she's a force to be reckoned with on the volleyball court. Anyways, this entertaining little crayon got smack attacked in practice the other day. Anticipating a tip around the block, she sped up to the 10-foot line to back up her blockers...But powerhouse middle hitter Jana Van Zanten ignored the block and slammed the ball right through it, hitting my beautiful baby sister directly in the face. That definitely wowed her. And I'm willing to bet that her kills will wow the Wolfpack when the Eagles come to town in October. And then again in November over in Cedar Rapids. Then we'll see who the real volleyball powerhouse is in Iowa.

Until then...

Oh and by the way, I'd like to take a quick second to congratulate the Le Mars Lady Bulldogs on their No. 9 ranking in Class 3A and their nearly perfect record at 8-1. Definitely looking forward to watching you girls continue to dominate the Northwest Iowa volleyball scene this fall...and please please please beat Western :)