Some familiar opponents stood between the Ankeny Centennial volleyball team and the championship of the Urbandale Invitational on Saturday.
The top-ranked Jaguars proved to be up for the challenge.
After dispatching No. 5 Indianola in the semifinals, Centennial posted a 25-17, 25-21 win over No. 6 Waukee Northwest in the title match. The Jaguars (23-3) have now won 10 consecutive matches since falling to Northwest in the semifinals of the Metro Classic on Sept. 14 at Southeast Polk.
The two teams also met on Sept. 3 at Centennial, where the Jaguars scored the final eight points of the match to erase a 14-8 deficit in the fifth set. The Wolves are now 21-7 on the season.
“We knew that they had a good go-to hitter (in sophomore Logan Vogt), and she can hit multiple places on the court so our main priority was to shut her down,” said Centennial senior Jaeden Pratt. “We stayed consistent throughout the match and blocked very well as a team! It was a great weekend overall for us!”
Delaney Miller recorded eight kills and three blocks in the win. Pratt had seven kills, 12 digs and also completed all 12 of her serves.
Finley Greiner, Mady Ott and Tatem Schmidt each added four kills. Schmidt also had 10 digs, while Ott chipped in three blocks.
Schmidt and Maegen Cheeseman each dished out 11 assists. Mya Lei-Butters contributed 18 digs.
“I’m extremely proud of our team,” said Centennial coach Jessica Rinehart. “We’ve struggled to play our best at the end of tournaments and so we had a goal and focus of playing until the end! And wow–they did. I think we played our best ball of the season in our last three matches. Our defense was relentless, and our hitters were unstoppable. I was really proud of how players stepped up and made each other better. Cheeseman made some super smart offensive decisions and collectively the Jags rose to the challenge. Saturday was truly a team effort and a team championship.
“I hope it’s a place we can keep building from as we enter the last stretch of our season,” she added.
Centennial advanced to the final with a 25-23, 25-13 victory over Indianola. Miller had 13 kills and Cheeseman added a pair of aces as the Jaguars defeated Indianola (25-4) for the second time.
The two teams also met in the season opener on Aug. 26 at Indianola, where Centennial rallied from a 2-0 deficit for a five-set win.
The Jaguars dropped only one set on Saturday, and that came during pool play. They fell behind against Des Moines Christian before battling back for a 17-21, 21-13, 15-13 victory.
Centennial also posted wins over Southeast Polk (21-14, 21-13) and Ames (21-14, 21-11) during pool play. The Jaguars then rolled to a 25-11, 25-16 triumph over Des Moines Roosevelt in the quarterfinals.
Centennial will host a CIML Conference match on Tuesday against Johnston (7-12). The Jaguars can clinch at least a tie for the league title with a win.