The best volleyball teams in Class 5A continue to take turns beating each other.
Top-ranked Ankeny Centennial advanced to the semifinals of the Westside Invitational on Saturday at Cedar Rapids Jefferson before dropping a 25-12, 24-26, 15-10 decision to No. 2 Pleasant Valley, which went on to win the tournament and could become the No. 1 team in the final Class 5A rankings.
The Spartans (28-2) were ranked No. 1 in the preseason, but then lost to Centennial, 25-20, 25-22, in the quarterfinals of the Centennial Invitational on Aug. 31. They have now won 21 straight matches since losing in five sets on Sept. 10 to North Scott, the current No. 3 team in Class 4A.
On Saturday, the Jaguars (28-4) tried to rally after dropping the first set, but couldn’t complete the comeback.
“We got off to a slow start, but I thought we did a great job of turning it around in the second game,” said Centennial coach Jessica Rinehart. “I think there are some things we can take from that match to help us in the postseason run.”
It appears likely that Pleasant Valley and Centennial will switch places in the final Class 5A rankings, while Ankeny (33-4) should hold onto the No. 3 spot ahead of teams like Dowling Catholic (22-9), Indianola (32-4) and Waukee Northwest (24-8). If that happens, it would set up the possibility for a Jag-Hawk rematch in the Class 5A semifinals next month–assuming that Pleasant Valley also makes it to the state tournament in Coralville.
The Jaguars easily won all three of their matches during pool play on Saturday. They opened the tournament with a 21-9, 21-7 win over Cedar Rapids Jefferson (6-21), then followed with a 21-10, 21-16 victory over Bondurant-Farrar (13-16).
In its third match, Centennial rolled to a 21-5, 21-9 triumph over Dike-New Hartford, the No. 4 team in Class 2A. The Wolverines (20-15) eventually reached the title match before dropping a 25-20, 25-22 decision to Pleasant Valley.
“I thought overall our girls had a great day!” Rinehart said. “We played probably our best match of the season against Dike-New Hartford, and we’re continuing to reach new levels of play.”
In the quarterfinals, the Jaguars posted a 25-18, 25-16 victory over No. 4 Dowling Catholic. It was the third meeting this season between the CIML Conference rivals.
The Maroons posted a 25-21, 25-14 win over Centennial in the semifinals of the Jaguars’ tournament. Rinehart’s squad then won a five-set rematch on Sept. 17 at Dowling, which helped the Jaguars to win the outright conference title.
Dowling is now playing without senior outside hitter Siri Beecher, who suffered torn knee ligaments during a loss at Ankeny on Oct. 1.
“We put together a great match against Dowling, and then just fell a little short against Pleasant Valley,” Rinehart said.
Centennial senior Delaney Miller recorded her 1,000th career kill during the win over Dowling. Junior setter Maegan Cheeseman also reached a milestone on Saturday, notching her 500th career assist.
Centennial will close out the regular season on Tuesday by hosting Southeast Polk (13-24). The Jaguars can finish a perfect 8-0 in league play with a win.
The Rams are 1-6 in the conference. They lost to Centennial, 21-14, 21-13, during pool play at the Urbandale Invitational on Oct. 5.