There was no letdown for the Ankeny Centennial volleyball team.
After rallying for a dramatic victory on Tuesday over defending Class 5A state champion Waukee Northwest, the second-ranked Jaguars traveled to Iowa City High on Saturday and won the Little Hawk Invitational for the fourth consecutive year.
Centennial swept all four of its opponents in impressive fashion. The Jaguars raised their record to 9-2 on the season.
“The Jags had a great weekend,” said Centennial coach Jessica Rinehart. “It was nice to get away from the metro and see some new teams. I thought we played four complete matches with our best ball coming in our last two. We consistently served tough and passed well–two things we’ve been working on.”
Centennial’s closest match of the day came against Council Bluffs Lewis Central, the No. 5 team in Class 4A. The Jaguars held off Lewis Central in the second set for a 21-15, 21-19 victory.
Delaney Miller had seven kills and two aces in the win. Tatem Schmidt contributed six kills, and Finley Greiner added four.
Maegen Cheeseman dished out 13 assists for the Jaguars. Schmidt had seven assists while also completing all 10 of her serves with an ace.
Jaeden Pratt racked up three blocks. Mya Lei-Butters had nine digs.
“We knew we had to play really solid volleyball this weekend and getting that win over Northwest was carried through, but we had the mindset that we still needed to handle business,” said Pratt. “Although we played multiple teams from different classes and some good, gritty teams, we really tried to stay consistent on our end. We made really good adjustments, and it was a great weekend all across the board!”
Centennial posted a 21-17, 21-12 win over No. 13 Bettendorf, defeating the Bulldogs for the second time this season. Pratt recorded eight kills in the match, Miller chipped in 10 digs, and Lei-Butters had three aces.
The Jaguars’ other victory over a ranked opponent came against Iowa City Regina, the No. 11 team in Class 2A. Pratt had six kills and nine digs in the 21-8, 21-14 decision.
Centennial also defeated Iowa City High, 21-4, 21-10. Miller had five aces in the win, and Mady Ott added three blocks.
“We incorporated our middles more and all three of them hit for great percentages, and we were able to utilize our right-side attack,” Rinehart said. “Overall, it felt like just what we needed at this point in the season to keep moving forward!”
The Jaguars will host a CIML Conference match against Urbandale on Tuesday. The J-Hawks are 0-2 in the league and 1-6 overall.