Gehrke, Stark and Gilbert to enter IGHSAU Volleyball Hall of Fame

     DES MOINES — Jessica Gehrke of Iowa City West, Mount Vernon's Ali Stark and Megan Gilbert of Tripoli are the 2017 inductees into the Iowa Girls High School Athletic Union's Volleyball Hall of Fame. The trio will be inducted Friday, November 10 prior to the start of the Class 3A state championship match. 

     Gehrke played for Iowa City West from 2006-to 2009. She was a three time all-state selection and was twice an Elite all-state pick. Gehrke led the Women of Troy to the state semifinals as a junior and was captain of the 2009 all-tournament team. She averaged 4.8 kills and 4.5 digs in helping Iowa West to a Class 4A runner-up finish. In addition to being named an elite all-stater, Gehrke was also named to the Under Armour all-American second team. Jessica went on to play volleyball at Florida International and focused her attention on the school’s sand volleyball team. An outstanding track and field athlete, Jessica also ran for the FIU track team.

     Stark played at Mount Vernon from 2007-to-2011. A four time all-state selection, she was a part of two state championship teams for hall of fame coach Shirley Ryan. She was a member of three all-tournament teams and the captain of two all tournament teams her junior and senior seasons. Ali was the Iowa Player of the Year as a senior, averaging three kills, 2.2 digs with 52 service aces and was a first-team high school all-American. Stark played collegiately at Illinois and was a four-time academic all-Big Ten selection while helping the Illini reach the NCAA regional tournament semifinals three times.

     Gilbert led Tripoli to four state championships. She was a four time all-tournament selection and was all-tournament captain four times. Gilbert was a four-time first team all-state selection in Class 1A and was the 1A Player of the Year three times.  Gilbert was the Iowa Player of the Year as a senior, when averaged 5.6 kills and 2.6 digs while hitting .462. She averaged over six kills a set for her career in 12 state tournament matches. Gilbert was a two-time first all-conference selection at Saint Louis University, earning second team all conference honors as a junior and was a member of the Atlantic 10 all-rookie team as a freshman.