The volleyball team takes on the Pekin Dragons (16-17) in the first round of Regional action Tuesday, Oct. 24, at 6 p.m. at Minooka High School.

The Iron enter the contest as the two-seed with a record of 24-11. Those 11 losses, Head Coach Ms. Christine Konopasek said, have prepared Community to win in the postseason.

10 of the team’s losses came in tournament play–falling to Normal West (31-4) and U-High (32-3) in Intercity and recording eight other losses against tourney opponents like perennial volleyball powerhouse Benet Academy of Lisle (33-2) and Lyons (28-7).

The Big 12 Conference, Konopasek said, isn’t particularly strong in terms of volleyball, as just three teams have winning records.

“If we don’t go to those suburban tournaments,” Konopasek said, “we don’t see the competition that we need to.”

Without those competitive matches, Konopasek said, Community would be underprepared to compete with other 4A schools in the postseason.

The Iron opened the season 4-6, facing just one conference foe in their first 10 matches–the West Wildcats.

“I think that if we don’t go to those tournaments,” the coach said, “we don’t get the battle tests that we need to be ready for that postseason push.”

In the run-up to the postseason, the team’s last 25 games, the Iron have gone 20-5.

Community’s postseason push will start with seeking a win over the seven-seed Dragons.

Pekin’s coach, Konopasek said, is a veteran who “knows how to prep teams.”

Konopasek expects the Dragons’ play to be “pretty consistent,” but are “left side dependent.”

The Iron, she believes, are a more balanced team.

“We aren’t overly dependent on one person to carry us,” Konopasek said. “If we have someone who’s maybe a little bit shaky, or doesn’t have their A game, we can depend on other people to carry the load.”

Community’s roster is well-rounded, boasting five players with 100 or more kills, five serving at a clip of 91% or better and four with 125-plus digs on the season.

If Community can disrupt the Dragons’ “system,” Konopasek said, Pekin’s play tends to become “pretty predictable.”

That predictability is something the team looks to capitalize on with aims of extending the postseason.

“Those last 25 games,” the coach said, “the Iron “have competed. I’m hoping we see more of that in the next two weeks so that we can play as long as [we] can.”

Tonight’s winner is back in action Thursday at 6 p.m., facing the victor of the Minooka (3)/Rock Island (6) matchup.