It took a little while for the Ankeny Centennial volleyball team to recover from a two-week layoff.
After dropping the first set, the second-ranked Jaguars rallied for a 26-28, 25-20, 25-19, 25-20 victory at No. 7 Johnston on Tuesday. The win allowed Centennial to move into sole possession of third place in the CIML Conference.
“I think we just needed to shake off the rust,” said Centennial junior Delaney Miller, who had 23 kills and three aces in the win. “Playing in a competitive game like we did at Johnston is different than anything we can replicate in practice, so we just needed to settle in and get back into the flow and speed of the game.”
Miller hit .457 on the night for the Jaguars, who outhit Johnston by a .279 to .263 margin. She also had 12 digs.
Jaeden Pratt added 18 kills and three aces. She also completed 22-of-23 serves.
Addie Pollock was a perfect 14-of-14 from behind the serving line for Centennial, which completed 96 percent of its serves (96-of-100). The Dragons, meanwhile, had 10 serving errors.
Gabby Mixdorf chipped in seven kills for the Jaguars, while Kambria Leazer dished out 47 assists. Anna Sash and Ava Kronenberg each had four blocks, and Mya Lei-Butters racked up 13 digs.
“Both Jaeden and Delaney carried a big load offensively and defensively and did a great job,” said Centennial coach Jessica Rinehart. “Our middles worked their tails off to close pin to pin and did a great job being up in transition, Gabby came in and gave us a great spark, Kam continues to be consistent and put up great balls for our hitters, and our libero Mya kept the ball off the floor and gave our hitters good coverage. I was really impressed with our team’s composure and execution in tight points throughout the game. It always felt like we were in control and when we needed a clutch point, someone stepped up and did it for the team. It was truly a team win against a good opponent.”
Ava Helming led Johnston with 21 kills and two aces. Jadeyn Pundt had 50 assists, Jazmine Bell contributed six blocks and Ella Smithson added 15 digs.
Miller said her team improved defensively as the match progressed.
“We recognized that our block had a couple more seams than we would like, so we put more of a focus on closing the block so our defense could work around them and get good quality touches,” she said.
The Jaguars improved to 4-1 in the conference and 17-3 overall. Johnston’s records dropped to 2-4 and 13-6.
“It was a great night for the Jags. It was great volleyball by both teams,” Rinehart said. “Johnston had some big hitters that we did a good job of adjusting to as the match went on. Both teams committed very few errors–it was primarily earned points throughout the night. This was the best serve receive and serving match we have played.”
No. 1 Dowling Catholic (6-0) and No. 3 Waukee Northwest (5-0) both recorded sweeps on Tuesday to remain unbeaten in league play. The Wolves will host Dowling on Oct. 5 and Centennial on Oct. 10.
The Jaguars will compete in the Urbandale Invitational on Saturday. They lost to Western Christian (Hull) in the championship match at last year’s tournament.
