Sports

In a rematch of last year’s Class 3A state semifinal, the Humboldt volleyball team met Western Christian again inside Xtream Arena in Coralville but this year Western prevailed 3-1. The 40-5 Wolfpack defeated the Wildcats by scores of 25-15, 25-19, 20-25 and 25-22 to advance into the championship match on Thursday, Nov. 5.

Humboldt’s brilliant season ends at 39-5.

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The Humboldt volleyball team won their opening quarterfinal round match over Solon in the Class 3A state tournament in Coralville on Tuesday, Nov. 3.

The 39-4 Wildcats won by scores of 25-17, 25-19, 22-25 and 25-17.

Humboldt will face top-seed Western Christian at 2 p.m. on Wednesday at Xtream Arena. Western swept Roland-Story 3-0 in the other opening match.

Malo 43rd, Aubry Fisher 44th for Humboldt

Humboldt's Avery Fisher placed 30th in the Class 3A state cross country championships held on Saturday, Oct. 31, at Lakeside Golf Course in Fort Dodge. Fisher finished in 19:30.5 in her second trip to state.

Teammates Jade Malo and Aubry Fisher finished 43rd and 44th, respectively. Malo, a freshman, finished in 19:47.9 while Aubry Fisher clocked 19:49.0.

The Fisher twins are both juniors with high hopes of returning in 2027.

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The fifth-ranked Humboldt volleyball team earned a return trip to the state tournament after winning a thrilling, 3-1 match over Unity Christian of Orange City on Tuesday night, Oct. 27 inside the Humboldt gym in a Class 3A Region 4 championship match.

Humboldt lost the first set, 25-23, then came back to win by scores of 26-24, 25-23 and 28-26. Humboldt improves to 38-4 overall on the season. Unity, ranked No. 11, ends its season at 20-12.

The Class 3A state tournament will be played on Tuesday, Nov. 3, inside Xtream Arena in Coralville. Humboldt, seeded No. 5, will face No. 4 seed Solon at 12 p.m. with the winner facing No. 1 Western Christian or No. 8 Roland-Story at 2 p.m. on Nov. 4. Last year Humboldt reached the 3A championship, only to bow to Davenport Assumption in the finals.

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As the Humboldt High School football team walked across Mason Maach Field for the final time last Friday night (Oct. 23), ninth-year Wildcat head coach Derrick Elman stood on the sidelines and got teary and emotional after watching his Wildcats fall to the Sioux Center Warriors, 36-26.

The Wildcats (0-9, 0-5), who closed the book on a winless season, the school’s first since 2001, left everything on the field against a Warrior squad (8-1, 4-1) ranked in the top 10 in Class 3A and looking to seal a playoff spot.

Humboldt was in the contest right up until the very end. It exemplified the way they have played all season long.

“That was a lot of fun to watch. It could have been so easy for these guys to shut down and think football is done early or any of that. But they didn’t quit and they fought all year long,” Elman said.

Humboldt moved within one match of the state volleyball tournament after shutting down the Nevada Cubs in three sets in the Humboldt gym on Oct. 22.

The Wildcats, 37-4, won by scores of 25-9, 25-9 and 25-13 in the Class 3A Region 4 semifinal round match. The triumph sent Humboldt into a regional final against Unity Christian of Orange City on Oct. 27 in the Humboldt gym. Unity defeated OABCIG 3-1 in a semifinal in Orange City.

“Honestly, I felt like our girls came out and played a great game of volleyball tonight,” Humboldt head coach Kara Waldorf said. “They were having fun.”

Junior setter Addie Waldorf made 30 assists to direct the Wildcat offense. Callie Olsen made three kills at the net and Adelynn Goodell totaled four blocks. Jazzie Dodd made 10 digs and Gracie Johnson had one ace serve.

Humboldt raced out to a 13-3 lead in the first set. Dodd served several balls to make it 19-6 Humboldt. Waldorf had a block to end it at 25-9

By PHIL MONSON

Humboldt High freshman Jade Malo is carrying on the family tradition.

Malo, who watched her older sisters, Brynn and Alana, compete at a high level in track and cross country over the last several years, has taken her turn this season for the Wildcat cross country team.

Last week in a Class 3A state-qualifying meet held in Clear Lake on Oct. 21, Malo joined teammates Aubry Fisher and Avery Fishers in qualifying for the upcoming state championships.

Malo earned a spot in this Saturday’s state meet in Fort Dodge by placing fifth at Clear Lake in 19:25.7. Aubry Fisher finished fourth in 19:25.5 and Avery Fisher was seventh in 19:33.8. They’ll represent Humboldt in the state meet to be held at Lakeside Golf Course north of Fort Dodge on Oct. 31.

The top three teams and the top 15 individuals in the qualifier advance to state. Humboldt’s girls finished fourth as a team, coming up short. Humboldt’s boys were 12th among 13 schools.

The fifth-ranked Humboldt High volleyball team began post-season tournament play with an impressive, 3-0 sweep of Grand View Christian in a Class 3A Region 4 match in the Humboldt gym on Tuesday night, Oct. 20. Humboldt won by scores of 25-11, 25-4 and 25-16 to improve to 36-4 overall on the year.

Humboldt advances into a second round semifinal match at home on Thursday night, Oct. 22, against Nevada. Nevada (12-30) defeated Albia 3-0.

The other side of the regional bracket had Unity Christian of Orange City beating Sheldon (3-0) and OABCIG stopping Harlan (3-1) with the regional semifinal round on Thursday night in the Unity Christian gym. The regional championship is Oct. 27 and hosted by the highest remaining ranked team.

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Wildcats host Sioux Center Friday

Bishop Heelan of Sioux City scored 21 unanswered points in the first quarter and went on to roll past the Humboldt Wildcats, 42-7 in a Class 3A District 1 football game in Sioux City on Oct. 16.

The loss dropped Humboldt’s record to 0-8 overall, 0-4 in district play.

Heelan improved to 5-3 and 3-1 as the Crusaders push for a post-season playoff spot.

Heelan went on a long drive to score right away. The Crusaders came back moments later when Grant Whitcomb blocked a Wildcat punt that was scooped up by Asser Mutumbo who returned the ball for a touchdown.

Heelan added two more touchdowns in the second quarter for a 35-0 halftime lead. Humboldt’s only touchdown came in the fourth quarter on a 49-yard run by senior running back Jaxson Kirchhoff.

No. 4 HHS hosts regional this week

Humboldt volleyball continues to set the standard.

The fourth-ranked Wildcats last week won the North Central Conference title outright with a 3-0 sweep at Hampton on Oct. 15.

The triumph gave Humboldt a perfect 11-0 conference record and boosted their record to 35-4 overall going into post-season.

The 35 wins breaks the single-season school win record. It also marks Humboldt’s fourth straight league title and third in a row with a perfect conference match record.

In a season where Humboldt had to replace several graduated seniors from last year’s state runner-up squad, Humboldt head coach Kara Waldorf shared her praise in describing her team’s 2026 success.

“I didn’t know what to expect going into pre-season so for them to do what they have done this year has been awesome. Honestly, maybe a little unexpected,” Waldorf said.