Just one more win.
That’s all that the Ankeny and Ankeny Centennial volleyball teams need to earn another trip to the Class 5A state tournament in Cedar Rapids.
Fourth-ranked Ankeny (35-5) will host a regional final against No. 12 Cedar Rapids Kennedy (20-18) on Monday, while No. 9 Centennial (18-14) will play for a state berth at No. 5 Council Bluffs Lincoln (37-3). Both matches will start at 7 p.m.
The Hawkettes are riding a 15-match winning streak under coach Dave Whims, who is in his second stint at the school after guiding Ankeny to four state titles during a successful 15-year run from 2000-14.
“We do have lots of video (on Kennedy), so we’ll learn what we have to do,” Ankeny’s McKenna Scheib said after the Hawkettes swept Urbandale in a regional semifinal on Tuesday.
This will be a rematch of a 2015 regional final that was won by Kennedy in three sets. The Cougars struggled down the stretch, going 6-8 in October before sweeping Ames in a regional semifinal.
Kennedy is led by senior Katie Jensen, who has racked up 291 kills this season.
“I just know they run a fast offense,” Whims said. “They back set a lot, and (Jensen) is a really good jumper and leader on their team. We’ll need to play tough.”
Centennial, meanwhile, will be in the rare position of being an underdog. The Jaguars will have to snap Lincoln’s 20-match winning streak to qualify for state.
The Lynx are led by Elaina Bohnet, who has pounded 354 kills. Fellow senior Samantha Christiansen has dished out 891 assists.
Lincoln coach Katie Darrington took over the program in 2016, when the current seniors were freshmen on the squad. The Lynx are seeking their first trip to the state tournament since 2014, when they lost to Centennial in the semifinals.
“Oh, we’re pumped. We’re really pumped,” Christiansen told the Council Bluffs Nonpareil.
Centennial has qualified for state in all six years that the program has existed. The Jaguars have won four of the last five Class 5A crowns.
