The powers that be in the Iowa Girls High School Athletic Union must have liked something about the ADM volleyball team’s body of work. The Tigers, somewhat unexpectedly, have earned a bye in the first round of the Class 4A regional playoffs.

That said, the Tigers (14-13) will be a long way home with the potential of facing some very difficult teams.

The regional pairings, which were released on Friday, has ADM’s first game in the second round on Thursday, October 29 at Lewis Central high school in Council Bluffs against the winner of Glenwood and fourth-ranked Lewis Central.

Joining those three schools on the bottom half of the bracket is Norwalk, Creston and Carlisle. Norwalk received the bye and will play the winner of Creston and Carlisle.

ADM head coach Mary Beth Scott recognized her team would not get as favorable of a postseason placement this year because her squad was in a rebuilding mode and a tough schedule. The IGHSAU selection committee seemed not to penalize the Tigers for scheduling extremely difficult tournaments against 5A schools and top-tier Class 4A schools. ADM is 5-11 in tournament play and 9-2 in all other matches.

For now, the Tigers are still in the hunt for a conference championship with a 4-1 record against the Raccoon River. ADM has the entire week off from competition before returning to the hardwood on Tuesday, Oct. 13 at No. 14 Bondurant-Farrar.