The goals haven’t changed for the Ankeny volleyball team, even after losing Class 5A player of the year Phyona Schrader and fellow all-stater McKenna Scheib from last year’s state championship squad.
Ankeny coach Dave Whims thinks the Hawkettes can contend for another crown.
“My goal is to get the players to play the best they can play as an individual and as a team,” he said. “If they improve as individuals, we will improve as a team. Yes, we lost four seniors with two of them being big-time, all-around players for us. Having said that, this team is taking the challenge to maintain the high expectations the program has reached. They want to repeat as state champions and the players feel if they improve, get reps and raise the playing IQ as a team, they have a shot at it.”
Ankeny posted a 22-2 record a year ago, including a 5-0 mark to win the CIML Iowa Conference. The Hawkettes captured their first state title since 2009 with a four-set victory over Iowa City Liberty.
Ankeny is now tied with Janesville and Unity Christian for fifth place all-time with five championships. Whims, who came out of retirement a year ago to return to the bench, is tied for seventh all-time among coaches with his five crowns.
“The practices are going great,” said Whims, whose team is third in Class 5A in the preseason rankings. “We’ve had no injuries, and the kids are giving great effort. We’re realizing we are developing depth in our program, and it is starting to show. We have many interchangeable parts. We are looking to fill the holes coming off last year’s championship.”
Ankeny returns three of its top hitters in senior Ava Reynolds, junior Hannah Baier and sophomore Aowyn Schrader. Reynolds and Schrader were both named to the Class 5A all-tournament team.
Reynolds led the Hawkettes with 249 kills and hit .299 for the season. She also had 29 blocks.
Reynolds was selected to the Class 5A all-state first team and the Iowa Conference first team. She has committed to play for Denver.
Schrader, meanwhile, placed fourth on the team with 154 kills and finished third among the Hawkettes with 56 blocks. She hit .356 and was a second-team all-conference pick.
Baier had 112 kills and was the team’s best server, completing 97.9 percent of her attempts (320-of-327) and racking up 29 aces. She placed second on the team with 169 digs and earned all-conference honorable mention.
“We have been trying Aowyn at outside and rightside (hitter),” Whims said. “We have Ava and Hannah returning to anchor the outsides. If this doesn’t work, we can move Aowyn back to middle blocker.”
Schrader could fill the rightside position that was vacated by Marianna Blanco. Blanco, who had 62 kills as a junior, has moved out to the west coast.
“She opted to take up schooling out there studying marine biology and environmental science,” Whims said. “That was an unexpected loss, so we are looking for a replacement.”
Defensively, Ankeny returns senior libero Lexi Stephens along with senior defensive specialists Maddie Foels and Halle Ouellette. Stephens led the squad with 261 digs and was a second-team all-conference pick.
Ouellette placed second on the team with 31 aces and also had 109 digs. Foels added 22 aces and 117 digs.
“We have several others that are coming along to push them and that is great to see,” Whims said. “That causes more effort and causes competition in the gym that causes improvement to catch those ahead and causes the ones ahead to get better so nobody takes their spot. We must continue to improve our skill level.”
Senior Adalyn Goodwin and junior Jesa Wallace are vying for the setter position. Goodwin had 102 assists a year ago while backing up Phyona Schrader.
“Both girls are taking on the task and developing nicely,” Whims said.
Senior Olivia Harpenau and junior Myra Carlson are battling for playing time at middle blocker. Whims said senior Ivana Kyande and fellow newcomers Ava Willie, Parker Olson and Tanitha Roush could also see some action for the Hawkettes.
“The keys to regaining that high ranking at the state level will be the backup players from last year taking on the roles of a starter,” Whims said. “The newcomers will be added to our program but we just ask them to fit in, learn the system and add to our strength. We try to take the strengths of the players and develop our system according to their strongest abilities. We know the big thing they lack, at this point, is experience and repetition. We are giving them reps and hopefully the scrimmages and playing this season will give them experience and the opportunity to improve under game-like conditions.”
Ankeny tuned up for its season opener by hosting a scrimmage on Saturday. The Hawkettes will open their campaign on Tuesday at the Dallas Center-Grimes Invitational.
