This time, there would not be a dramatic rally by the Ankeny Centennial volleyball team.
The top-ranked Jaguars dropped a 25-23, 25-19 decision to No. 7 Waukee Northwest in the semifinals of the Metro Classic on Saturday at Southeast Polk.
It was a rematch of a CIML Conference matchup on Sept. 3 at Centennial, where Northwest was on the verge of a victory before the Jaguars scored the final eight points to pull out a thrilling five-set win.
“We were just ok on Saturday,” said Centennial coach Jessica Rinehart, whose team is now 13-3 on the season. “We played a great match against (Council Bluffs) Lincoln (during pool play), but fell flat and played slow against Waukee Northwest. We needed to do a better job of identifying where their go-to hitter was and get more hands up at the net. This first third of our season is a grind with four Saturday tournaments/scrimmages in a row, and it felt like the mental and physical fatigue showed through some uncharacteristic unforced errors throughout the day.”
Northwest (11-4), the defending Class 5A state champion, went on to beat No. 5 Indianola in the title match. That was the first loss for the Indians (15-2) since they dropped their season opener to Centennial on Aug. 26.
Delaney Miller had seven kills in the loss to the Wolves. Jaeden Pratt had five kills and two blocks, while Sophia Heither added three kills and two blocks.
Maegen Cheeseman dished out 12 assists for the Jaguars, who hit just .172 for the match. Cheeseman, Pratt and Mya Lei-Butters each had seven digs.
Both Pratt and Lei-Butters converted all seven of their serves. Pratt and Cheeseman each had an ace.
Centennial went 3-0 during pool play, dropping only one set along the way. The Jaguars opened the tournament with a 20-22, 21-14, 15-12 win over Pella, the No. 4 team in Class 4A.
Tatem Schmidt had eight kills and 12 digs for Centennial, while Miller added eight kills and an ace. Miller now has 110 career aces, breaking the school record previously held by Jaali Winters.
Cheeseman racked up 19 assists. Lei-Butters and Pratt each contributed 13 digs.
Centennial rolled to a 21-7, 21-7 victory over Marshalltown. Miller, Schmidt and Sidney Rogers each had four kills in the match, while Cheeseman had 11 assists.
The Jaguars then followed with a 21-14, 21-11 triumph over Council Bluffs Lincoln. Pratt recorded 11 kills, Cheeseman had 15 assists, and Miller added 11 digs.
“It’s a weekend we can learn from,” Rinehart said. “We’ve got a big match on Tuesday so we’re going to get back after it and prepare for Dowling (Catholic).”
Centennial will travel to Dowling for a showdown against the No. 3 Maroons (16-4), who defeated No. 2 Ankeny to win the Caroline Found Invitational on Saturday at Iowa City West. The two teams are tied with No. 8 Waukee atop the conference standings with identical 2-0 records.
The Jaguars will be looking to avenge a 25-21, 25-14 loss to Dowling in the semifinals of the Centennial Invitational on Aug. 31.
