If Wednesday’s semifinal matches in the Class 5A state volleyball tournament are half as entertaining as Monday’s quarterfinal matches, then the fans at the Alliant Energy PowerHouse will be in for a treat.
Monday’s action included a pair of five-set thrillers. Third-ranked Ankeny outlasted No. 6 Urbandale despite scoring five fewer points overall, while No. 10 Johnston fought off two match points in the fourth set and went on to shock No. 1 Iowa City Liberty in one of the tournament’s biggest upsets in recent memory.
So who will prevail on Wednesday? Here are Ankeny Fanatic’s predictions for the semifinals:
No. 8 seed Johnston (28-11) vs. No. 4 Cedar Falls (31-8): The Tigers swept No. 5 Dowling Catholic in the quarterfinals and are now just two wins away from the Class 5A crown. If they can run the table, that would allow veteran coach Matt Johnson to earn his 600th career victory in Thursday’s championship match. Cedar Falls’ path to the title opened up with Johnston’s win over Iowa City Liberty, which had already defeated the Tigers twice this season. The Dragons, meanwhile, are making the most of their first state tournament trip since 2015. Like Ankeny, they also advanced to the semifinals despite being outscored by their opponent on Monday, 109-101. Johnston coach Rick Brooks is the 2021 recipient of the Iowa Girls’ High School Athletic Union’s Golden Plaque of Distinction Award. He will be honored before the title match, but will he also be getting ready to coach his team in the final? The guess here is no. Prediction: Cedar Falls in four sets.
No. 2 Pleasant Valley (31-4) vs. No. 3 Ankeny (40-5): This is a rematch of last year’s semifinal matchup that was won by the Hawkettes in five sets. Ankeny’s Ava Reynolds had 18 kills in the win, while teammate Aowyn Schrader added 10. The Hawkettes will again need big performances from that duo to offset Pleasant Valley’s balanced attack. Chloe Cline had 14 kills and Arra Cottrell added 11 for the Spartans in last year’s loss. Pleasant Valley boasts one of the state’s best setters in Kora Ruff, who has racked up more than 3,000 assists in her career. She can also distribute the ball to Halle Vice, who had 10 kills in Monday’s quarterfinal win over Ankeny Centennial, including one to close out the match. “They’re very good and very tall,” Ankeny coach Dave Whims said of the Spartans. “We’ll have to study the video and come up with a game plan.” Both teams are in the semifinals for the third straight year, but only one of them can advance to Thursday’s final. “Pleasant Valley is a good team,” said Ankeny libero Lexi Stephens. “We’re going to go down fighting, and they’re going to go down fighting. It’s just going to be a great match overall.” Stephens won’t get an argument from me. I think this one will go the distance. Prediction: Ankeny in five sets.
