The third time proved to be a charm for the Waukee Northwest volleyball team.
After losing twice to second-ranked Ankeny Centennial earlier this season, the No. 3 Wolves earned some revenge with a dramatic five-set victory in the Class 5A semifinals on Wednesday at Xtream Arena in Coralville.
Northwest (26-9) advanced to the championship match for the first time in school history with a 24-26, 25-23, 11-25, 25-20, 15-11 win over the Jaguars, who finished the season with a 31-7 record.
“It was a tough match,” said Centennial senior Anna Sash. “I think we could have come out on top. It was just a matter of a few points, and it was unfortunate the side we were on.”
The Wolves closed out the match with a 7-2 run after Centennial had rallied in Set 5 to take a 9-8 lead on a kill by Jaeden Pratt.
“I thought we had (the momentum), but it’s hard with volleyball because the momentum swings every single time,” said Pratt. “It’s just hard that we couldn’t finish it out, but I’m proud of the way we played.”
Northwest took the lead for good, 10-9, on a kill by Katrina Pelds, who had a team-high 15 kills. The Wolves sealed the victory when Kate Hoover blocked a spike attempt by Delaney Miller.
Northwest finished with 27 blocks, eight of them by Northern Iowa recruit Kamryn Vogt.
“They kept fighting back,” Centennial coach Jessica Rinehart said of the Wolves. “It was kind of a game of we’re playing great ball, and then they’re playing great ball. It was a good battle. I’m proud of our team for fighting. It was just a disappointing outcome.”
Northwest will play No. 1 Dowling Catholic (32-7) for the Class 5A championship on Thursday at 10 a.m. The Jaguars, meanwhile, lost in the semifinals for the second straight year.
“Many teams wish they could be in our position in the first place, and I’m proud of how hard we fought,” Pratt said. “I’m glad that we were able to get this opportunity.”
The Wolves outhit Centennial by a .131 to .118 margin. Chloe Jones had 11 kills in the win, while Katey Lockyear dished out 27 assists and Anna Pelds contributed 27 digs.
Miller led the Jaguars with 16 kills. Pratt had 15, and Sash added 10 kills and six blocks.
Kambria Leazer racked up 48 assists and also had two aces. Mya Lei-Butters finished with 32 digs.
Addie Pollock completed all 19 of her serves.
“I think we needed to serve more aggressively to get them out of system,” Sash said. “Our blocking got killed a bit more than I wanted, but I’m proud of how we played.”
The back-and-forth match featured 35 total ties and 16 lead changes. There were 23 ties and seven lead changes in the first two sets combined.
After Centennial won the opening set, the Jaguars took a 21-19 lead on a kill by Gabby Mixdorf in Set 2. But the Wolves then scored six of the next eight points and tied the match on a kill by Pelds.
Centennial rebounded with a dominant victory in Set 3. The Jaguars reeled off eight straight points, the last seven of them with Pollock serving, to build an 11-4 lead.
Miller had five kills and an ace as Centennial moved one set away from the title match.
“I was ready for 25 more points to get out of there, but (Northwest) fought back hard and put pressure on our side of the net,” Rinehart said. “We didn’t get the bounces we needed to take that fourth game and in the fifth game, anything can happen.”
A kill by Pratt gave Centennial a 13-11 advantage in Set 4, but the Wolves then answered with a 7-1 run to take the lead for good. Vogt and her sister, Logan, combined for three consecutive blocks during the run.
Jones later smashed a kill to close out the set.
“We knew it was going to be a challenging fourth set because we knew they were going to come back and want to put up a better game,” Pratt said. “They came on and they were upping their block, and they were getting some very good touches. We thought we had the momentum, but things happen in volleyball.”
The Jaguars scored the first two points in Set 5 before Northwest responded with a 7-0 run. Kamryn Vogt had two kills and a pair of blocks to spark the Wolves.
“I think they passed a little better,” Sash said. “They swung away on a few key plays and went through (our block).”
Centennial answered with a 7-1 run of its own, but it wasn’t enough as Northwest made one final surge to prevail with the narrow win.
“They played really well down the stretch and made the points count,” Rinehart said.
The Jaguars, who reached the state tournament for the 10th time in their 11 seasons as a varsity program, were hoping to capture their fifth state title. They had to settle for another semifinalist trophy–despite outscoring Northwest, 105-100, in the entire match.
“We put up a good season, and I’m so proud of all the girls,” Sash said.
