As the injuries continue to pile up for the Ankeny volleyball team, the Hawkettes have still managed to enjoy success on the court.
Third-ranked Ankeny defended its title on Saturday at the Waukee Invitational with a 25-18, 25-19 victory over the host Warriors. The Hawkettes (16-7) defeated No. 15 Waukee (8-14) for the third time this season.
“We played pretty well considering I had to start a freshman (Marlee Ellison) because we had some more injuries,” said Ankeny coach Liz Baethke. “It took everyone to pull together to make it happen, and they did.”
Ankeny lost starting outside hitter Maya Ridgeway to an injury earlier in the week. Ridgeway was already filling in for all-stater Aowyn Schrader, who reaggravated an elbow injury and has not played since the match at Johnston on Sept. 5.
“Nothing is broke with Maya, so I think she’ll be back soon,” Baethke said. “But we also had another freshman who broke an ankle, and she probably would have been the next player I would have brought up. (The injuries) just aren’t ending. I think we start getting close to being healthy and then something else happens.”
After going 2-1 during pool play, Ankeny advanced to the championship match with a 22-25, 31-29, 15-8 win over Indianola, the No. 2 team in Class 4A. The Indians lost for only the second time in 21 matches.
Kamryn Scheib led the Hawkettes with 11 kills, eight digs and two aces. Reagan Hanfelt chipped in six kills and five blocks, while Ellison added five kills.
Cloey Wiederin dished out 13 assists and had two aces. Lauren Dockendorff had nine assists.
Ady Brecht made four blocks, while Baileigh Carlsen racked up 12 digs. Ilana Coleman completed all 12 of her serves.
Scheib then pounded 11 more kills in the win over Waukee. Hanfelt contributed six kills, two blocks and two aces, while Olivia Eike also had six kills.
Wiederin had 12 assists and a pair of aces. Dockendorff added 11 assists.
Carlsen had 10 digs and completed all 12 of her serves. Coleman finished with eight digs.
“It’s a different lineup every week,” Baethke said. “It doesn’t seem to faze the girls. They push through it. All the adversity they’ve had to deal with has made them have a tougher mindset about changes and accepting what we can’t control.”
Ankeny’s only loss of the day came during pool play. The Hawkettes dropped an 18-21, 21-15, 15-8 decision to No. 8 Valley (12-9), which eventually lost to CIML Conference rival Waukee in the semifinals.
Ankeny finished with 19 kills and 18 hitting errors against the Tigers, resulting in a .014 hitting percentage. Scheib had eight kills in the loss, while Ava Wille chipped in seven.
Wiederin had eight assists and two assists. Dockendorff added seven assists and eight digs.
Hanfelt made four blocks, and Brecht contributed three. Carlsen finished with eight digs, and Megan Rembert added seven.
Ankeny also had a three-set match against Norwalk (12-9), the No. 6 team in Class 4A. The Hawkettes rallied to post a 21-23, 21-19, 15-12 triumph.
Scheib had 11 kills in the win. Hanfelt added seven kills and three blocks.
Dockendorff and Wiederin each dished out 11 assists. Brecht and Wille each had three blocks.
Carlsen had 14 digs and two aces. Coleman went 10-for-10 from behind the serving line.
Ankeny also rolled to a 21-15, 21-9 victory over Sergeant Bluff-Luton (7-10). Hanfelt had seven kills and three blocks for the Hawkettes.
Scheib finished with six kills and three aces. Ellison added four kills.
Wiederin had nine assists and also completed all 11 of her serves with one ace. Dockendorff added seven assists.
Eike made three blocks. Carlsen finished with seven digs.
“We had a really good week of practice,” Baethke said. “Having the bye week allowed us to reorganize a little bit and get a few more things figured out. The rest did help.”
Ankeny will travel to Southeast Polk on Tuesday for a CIML Conference match against the Rams, who are 1-2 in the league and 7-9 overall. Schrader is not expected to play.
“She’ll be out at least another week for sure,” Baethke said.
