Bouncing back from Tuesday’s loss to top-ranked Dowling Catholic, the No. 2 Ankeny Centennial volleyball team cruised to the championship of the Metro Classic on Saturday at Southeast Polk.
The Jaguars claimed the title with a 25-14, 25-20 win over Indianola, the No. 2 team in Class 4A. It was the first loss of the season for the Indians (16-1), who had defeated Centennial in four sets in the season opener on Aug. 21.
“The Jags had a great day!” said Centennial coach Jessica Rinehart, whose team is now 15-3 overall. “We got a quality win over Valley (in the semifinals), and it felt great to get the win against Indianola. We’ve made a ton of progress since we first played them, and it was great to see it show in the championship.”
Delaney Miller had 11 kills in the title match, while Jaeden Pratt chipped in five. Kambria Leazer racked up 14 assists and eight digs, and Anna Sash added a pair of blocks.
Centennial advanced to the final with a 25-16, 25-17 victory over No. 8 Valley. The Tigers dropped to 8-7 on the season.
Miller and Pratt each had 11 kills in the win. Miller also had a pair of aces, while Pratt contributed seven digs.
Leazer finished with 21 assists and five kills. Emma Liechti and Finley Greiner each had two blocks.
The Jaguars swept all three of their opponents during pool play, capped off by a 21-13, 21-12 win over North Polk. The Comets (16-3) are ranked 13th in Class 4A.
Pratt had nine kills and two blocks for Centennial. Miller chipped in five kills and nine digs, and Sash also had five kills.
Leazer completed all 12 of her serves and also had 16 assists. Mya Lei-Butters added two aces.
The Jaguars opened pool play with a 21-12, 21-4 triumph over Oskaloosa (6-7). They hit .500 for the match.
Miller racked up eight kills, four digs and three aces. She completed all 11 of her serves.
Pratt and Sash each had four kills. Leazer dished out 13 assists, and Liechti made two blocks.
Centennial followed with a 21-11, 21-9 win over Des Moines East (1-6). Liechti completed all 13 of her serves and had five aces for the Jaguars, who used a different lineup in that match.
Ava Adams, Gabby Mixdorf, Tatem Schmidt and Ava Kronenberg each had three kills in the win. Mixdorf also had three digs and four aces, while Schmidt and Kronenberg each added a pair of blocks.
Maegen Cheeseman dished out 14 assists. Lei-Butters had three digs.
The Jaguars will host a rematch against Valley in a CIML Conference match on Tuesday.
“We’re developing more weapons and more players that are ready to go,” Rinehart said. “We’ve got to be ready to face Valley again on Tuesday and then it will be nice to get some rest and have some time to work on the finer details to be ready for the middle part of our season.”
After Tuesday’s match, Centennial won’t play again until Sept. 26.
