Outside of winning a state championship, Dakota Mitchell killed it in her senior volleyball season at Mid-Prairie.

Mitchell, a North Texas DI recruit, ranked third in Iowa 3A with 560 defensive digs and helped lead the Golden Hawks to a school-record 33 wins and a state tournament berth.

“This season was so special,” Mitchell said. “The very first day of preseason, we wrote goals on the white board in the gym. Very achievable goals that we knew this year’s squad could do. Some of them weren’t even just winning this and this. It was simply being the best teammate or being the best version of yourself for the team.”

A bonus for Mitchell was playing against two of her Iowa Adrenaline Volleyball Academy teammates in a state quarterfinal at Xtreme Arena in Coralville: Mount Vernon’s Sydney Maue and Chloe Meester. Together, they won a USA Volleyball Girls Junior national championship last summer.

“It was super fun playing against them,” Mitchell said. “It’s always fun playing against club teammates in high school matches because, one, it’s always good going in for a quick hug at the captains meeting and, two, it’s fun seeing them from the opposite side of the court.

“Obviously,” Mitchell added, “it’s better having them on the same side as me, but it’s always a little extra spark that makes me want to dig them up because I don’t get to as often when they are on the same side as me. The loss may have stung less because they are two very well respected players and teammates.”

The Golden Hawks lost the match in straight sets, but pushed Mount Vernon to 25-22 in the opening set.

Add in Mid-Prairie sisters Jovi and Jeorgia Evans, who also made it to the USAV national championships in younger age classes, and the match included some of the top high schoolers in Iowa.

Meester, a Louisville DI recruit, was the top outside hitter in 3A with 575 kills and was named Player of the Year. Maue, an Arkansas DI recruit, ranked seventh in kills.

In four years, Mitchell, who was a starter from Day One as a freshman, piled up 2,301 digs.

Triple Threat

Jovi Evans, a junior, is likely riding up the college recruiting lists herself after a season in which she had 584 assists, 359 kills and 374 digs.

No other player in Iowa, all classes, had that stats combination.

Evans is a libero and a defensive specialist, just like Mitchell, during club season, but in high school Evans turns into an offensive attacker and setter, and defensive player, all at the same time.

Her speed landed her in the state track meet finals last spring in both the 100 and 200 individually, and on Mid-Prairie’s sprint relay squad, achievements that also attract college recruiters.

After a volleyball-filled summer and fall, Evans chose to skip basketball season rather than return as a starting guard for the Golden Hawks. And who can blame her? Volleyball will be getting even more attention now with an upcoming club season and training, and college decisions to make. When the Golden Hawks began their season last Tuesday, Evans was roaming the court with a camera, watching her sister, Jeorgia, make her high school basketball debut.

“She decided to step away. She’s got a few things that she needs to focus on,” Mid-Prairie girls basketball coach Danny Hershberger said. “We support her 100% with that. I told her, we’re there for her no matter what. She’s a great kid. We’ll help her in any way we can help her.”

Jeorgia Evans, a freshman, did not miss a shot in her debut for the Golden Hawks, going 5-for-5. Jeorgia’s 431 digs in volleyball ranked number one among Class 3A freshmen, number two all classes.

Chasing a Title

Another Evans volleyballer, Jaedynn, was in Salem, Virginia, to chase after a national title with the University of Wisconsin-Whitewater in the NCAA DIII Volleyball Championship.

Evans, a grad student, had a match-high 13 digs in the Warhawks’ sweep of UWisconsin-Platteville in a regional championship match.

Whitewater lost the title match to unbeaten Juniata in five sets, but finished the season with 31 wins. Evans had 19 digs in the title match.

Jaedynn Evans played her high school volleyball at Mid-Prairie and Regina Catholic. She was a two-time All-American and one of the top defensive players in the country at Central Oklahoma University. Evans joined Whitewater this year when she entered a grad program with remaining eligibility to play.

Double-Double Fink

Kamryn Fink of Highland High School is the girl on fire.

After her first four high school varsity basketball games, Fink, a freshman, ranks number two in scoring and number three in rebounding in Class 1A.

She scored 32 points and grabbed 20 rebounds in the Huskies’ 60-47 take down of defending league champion Lone Tree last week. In four games, all Highland victories, she has scored three double-doubles and twice totaled 20 rebounds.

Fink is the daughter of head coach Jody Fink.

News columnist Paul Bowker can be reached at bowkerpaul1@gmail.com. Follow him on Twitter: @bowkerpaul