Two of the state’s best volleyball teams met for a third time on Tuesday at Waukee Northwest.
And, for the third time, third-ranked Ankeny outlasted the No. 6 Wolves.
The Hawkettes posted a 20-25, 25-20, 25-23, 16-25, 15-12 victory in the CIML Conference match, allowing No. 1 Ankeny Centennial to wrap up the outright league crown. Both Ankeny and Northwest are now 5-2 in the conference.
The Wolves won the Class 5A state title a year ago after placing third in the league.
“I wouldn’t have it any other way,” Ankeny coach Liz Baethke said of the grueling CIML schedule. “This conference is what prepares us for the postseason. That’s the kind of competition we need to see.”
It was the eighth straight win for the Hawkettes (33-4), who defeated Northwest in the quarterfinals of the Centennial Invitational on Aug. 31 and then beat the Wolves (24-8) again in the Marj White Classic one week later at Valley.
“I think they’ve definitely gotten way better as the season has gone on,” Ankeny senior Olivia Eike said of the Wolves. “They developed really well, and I think we also have. We really terminated the ball.”
Eike helped Ankeny overcome an 8-4 deficit in Set 5. She smashed a kill to break an 11-11 tie, then Baileigh Carlsen followed with an ace to give the Hawkettes a 13-11 advantage.
Another kill by Eike brought Ankeny to the brink of victory. Northwest fought off one match point with a kill, but the outcome was then decided when a serve by Leah Janulewicz went into the net.
“I think we came out after that fourth set and we were like, ‘We really have to go,'” Eike said. “You know, first to five…first to 10…first to 15.”
It’s possible that the two teams could meet again in the postseason. Based on the current rankings, they would be in line to face each other in the Class 5A quarterfinals at the state tournament–if the top six teams make it to Coralville next month.
“You never know with these last rankings,” Baethke said. “They could totally surprise us. I would be shocked if it switches because they’ve been pretty steady (the last few weeks), but it could.”
Northwest got off to a good start in Tuesday’s match. The Wolves pulled away in the first set and closed it out on a kill by freshman Avery Cordes.
“We were just in the wrong tempo,” Baethke said. “On Saturday (at the Waverly-Shell Rock Invitational) we weren’t fluid and never got rolling, and tonight kind of started the way we left off Saturday. Hopefully here in the next week or so, we can get healed up and not having any more sickness and having all of our kids on and start to peak at the right time.”
Ankeny evened the match when Eike pounded a kill to close out Set 2. The Hawkettes then scored the final two points of Set 3 to break a 23-23 tie and take a 2-1 lead.
Northwest responded by dominating Set 4. The Wolves closed it out when Logan Vogt came from the back row and smashed a kill from the middle.
Northwest took the early lead in Set 5, but was unable to put the match away. The Wolves’ only other loss in conference play came on Sept. 3 at Centennial, where the Jaguars scored the final eight points to erase a 14-8 deficit in the fifth set.
Eike racked up 14 kills to lead the Hawkettes, while Kamryn Scheib had 13 kills and 14 digs. Maya Ridgeway chipped in seven kills, and Reagan Hanfelt added six kills and six blocks.
Miya Steinkamp dished out 24 assists. Gracyn Adams contributed 11.
Carlsen finished with 33 digs and three aces. Ilana Coleman added 14 digs.
Ankeny will travel to Urbandale next Tuesday to play the J-Hawks (1-22) in their final conference match.
“I think the end goal is just to go to state and play well, but we’re just focused on right now,” Eike said.