Next week’s Mississippi Valley Conference volleyball opener has gained some serious sizzle.

Iowa City High is No. 1 and Cedar Rapids Kennedy No. 2 in the Iowa Girls High School Athletic Union’s preseason Class 5A rankings, released Monday afternoon.

“That’s a lot to live up to,” Kennedy Coach Michelle Goodall said. “I like the possibilities for our team at the end of the season; I think we have the pieces to be super-fantastic.

“But right now, we’ve got a ways to go.”

City High, which returns three all-staters (Michaela Nelson, Rachel Rinehart and Liz Hubing) from last year’s 40-4, state runner-up team, opens its season next Tuesday in an MVC Mississippi Division encounter at Kennedy.

The Cougars, who have reached the state semifinals four straight years, were 30-10 last year and brings back all-state middle blockers Lexi Rogers and Jordan Calef.

Kennedy opens with three matches at the MVC-MAC Challenge on Thursday at Eldridge.

Five MVC teams are in the preseason 5A top 10. Cedar Falls is fourth, Dubuque Hempstead sixth, two-time defending state champion Iowa City West ninth. Two others are rated in 4A (No. 7 Dubuque Wahlert and No. 12 Cedar Rapids Xavier).

Sioux City Heelan (4A), MOC-Floyd Valley (3A), Dike-New Hartford (2A) and Grundy Center (1A) also open at No. 1 in their respective classes.

Heelan has advanced to state 14 straight years; the Crusaders were 3A runners-up last year. Dike-New Hartford is the defending 2A champion; Grundy Center reached the 2A semifinals last year.

Five teams from the Wamac Conference East Division are rated — Solon is third, Maquoketa sixth, West Delaware eighth, DeWitt Central 10th in 4A, Mount Vernon is eighth in 3A. Wamac West teams Marion and Clear Creek Amana are 14th and 15th in 4A.

PRESEASON VOLLEYBALL RANKINGS

Class 5A

1. Iowa City High

2. Cedar Rapids Kennedy

3. Ankeny

4. Cedar Falls

5. Urbandale

6. Dubuque Hempstead

7. Clinton

8. Pleasant Valley

9. Iowa City West

10. West Des Moines Dowling

Class 4A

1. Sioux City Heelan

2. Harlan

3. Solon

4. Waverly-Shell Rock

5. Charles City

6. Maquoketa

7. Dubuque Wahlert

8. West Delaware

9. North Scott

10. DeWitt Central

11. Fairfield

12. Cedar Rapids Xavier

14. Marion

15. Clear Creek Amana

Class 3A

1. MOC-Floyd Valley

2. Mediapolis

3. West Liberty

4. Sioux Center

5. Union

6. Nevada

7. Davenport Assumption

8. Mount Vernon

9. Unity Christian

10. East Sac County

11. Cascade

12. South Central Calhoun

13. Estherville-Lincoln Central

14. Red Oak

15. Bondurant-Farrar

Class 2A

1. Dike-New Hartford

2. Western Christian

3. Carroll Kuemper

4. Sumner-Fredericksburg

5. Council Bluffs St. Albert

6. West Branch

7. Ridge View

8. Woodward-Granger

9. Treynor

10. Hinton

11. Durant

12. IKM-Manning

13. Iowa City Regina

14. Lake Mills

15. Edgewood-Colesburg

Class 1A

1. Grundy Center

2. LeMars Gehlen

3. Janesville

4. Fort Madison Holy Trinity

5. Tripoli

6. Bellevue Marquette

7. Stanton

8. East Union

9. Bedford

10. Lisbon

11. New London

12. Twin Cedars

13. Central Lyon

14. Preston

15. Winfield-Mount Union