It’s been a good week for Baileigh Carlsen and the Ankeny volleyball team.
Carlsen recorded her 1,000th career dig as the third-ranked Hawkettes won the Waukee Invitational on Saturday for the third consecutive year.
“Honestly, I didn’t really know that I was about to hit 1,000–especially this tournament,” said Carlsen, a senior libero and Auburn recruit who leads Class 5A and ranks fourth in the entire state with 327 digs this season. “I knew I was close, but not that close.”
Ankeny posted a 25-19, 16-25, 17-15 victory over No. 6 Indianola in the title match. The Hawkettes raised their record to 24-3.
“We had a great week and finished strong at the tournament,” said Ankeny coach Liz Baethke, whose team had swept Johnston on Tuesday. “We are definitely bringing momentum into our toughest stretch of conference play.”
Maya Ridgeway racked up nine kills as Ankeny handed the Indians just their third loss in 22 matches. Kamryn Scheib had seven kills and 11 digs, Reagan Hanfelt chipped in seven kills and three blocks, and Marlee Ellison added five kills.
Miya Steinkamp dished out 17 assists and had the Hawkettes’ only ace of the match. Gracyn Adams contributed nine assists.
Carlsen finished with 18 digs, while Ilana Coleman added 11. They both completed all 10 of their serves.
“The wins this weekend really gave us the confidence moving on this season,” Carlsen said. “I think that since the loss to Waukee (on Sept. 10) we have turned our season around, and we are definitely playing the best I’ve seen yet this year!”
Ankeny earlier rolled to a 25-19, 25-11 win over No. 8 Waukee in the semifinals. It was the third meeting this season between the two teams.
The Hawkettes defeated Waukee by a similar score in the Marj White Classic on Sept. 7 at Valley, but the Warriors then swept Ankeny three days later in a CIML Conference match. On Saturday, Scheib led the way with 12 kills as her team posted a .348 hitting efficiency.
“We played as a team,” said Scheib. “We knew we could beat them, and we stayed super confident and had high energy the entire match. It was a good match, but we defeated them!”
Olivia Eike had eight kills and three blocks while hitting .538 for Ankeny. Hanfelt added five kills and four blocks, while Steinkamp and Adams each had 13 assists.
Carlsen recorded eight digs, Coleman chipped in seven, and Carly Olson added three blocks. Carlsen and Hanfelt each had two aces.
Ankeny easily won all three of its matches during pool play. The Hawkettes posted a 21-13, 21-5 victory over Class 4A No. 14 Knoxville, a 21-17, 21-7 triumph over Des Moines Roosevelt, and a 21-11, 21-16 win over Class 4A No. 8 Norwalk.
“I’m proud of the total team effort I’m seeing day in and day out,” Baethke said. “These kids are committed to pushing each other to get better. We are excited for more opportunities to build on our successes these next couple weeks!”
Ankeny will host Southeast Polk (7-13) on Tuesday before hosting No. 1 Ankeny Centennial (14-3) in another conference match on Thursday.