Thursday night was a celebration of Ankeny volleyball at Xtream Arena in Coralville.
Prior to the Class 1A championship match that saw Ankeny Christian Academy win its third consecutive state title, former Ankeny and Ankeny Centennial star Jaali Winters was inducted into the Iowa Girls’ High School Athletic Union Volleyball Hall of Fame along with two other standouts from the same era– Carlee Ketchum of West Delaware and Rachel Koop of Dike-New Hartford.
“It’s really a huge honor,” said Winters. “I feel really lucky and blessed and just really grateful that I had such a great support system with me throughout all of it.”
Winters becomes the fourth player from Ankeny to join the Hall of Fame. Shannon Aschoff was inducted in 2012, followed by Kristin Belzung in 2014 and then Chelsey Semprini a year later.
Winters was a four-time all-stater who played her first two seasons at Ankeny in 2011-12 before moving across town when Centennial opened its doors in 2013. She is the first Hall of Famer from Ankeny who played for the Jaguars and coach Jessica Rinehart.
“I’m always proud of J,” said Rinehart. “She’s an awesome human, and she has continued to do big things after high school.”
Winters twice helped Ankeny to the semifinals at the state tournament under Hall of Fame coach Dave Whims. She might be the best player to ever wear a Hawkette uniform, even though she played just two years on the south side.
“She was probably one of the most dynamic hitters on the outside pin Ankeny has ever had,” Whims said in 2020 when Winters was named the captain of Ankeny Fanatic’s all-time Ankeny volleyball team. “She crushed the ball time and time again, and she certainly matured as a player. Every year she improved.”
Winters led Centennial to a Class 5A semifinal appearance in the school’s inaugural season. She pounded 30 kills in a five-set loss to Bettendorf and was named to the all-tournament team for the second straight year.
In 2014, Winters capped off her career by leading Centennial to a 44-3 record and its first state title. She was named the captain of the all-tournament team after the Jaguars swept two-time defending champion Bettendorf in the final, snapping the Bulldogs’ 47-match winning streak.
“She so badly wanted to win it all, and she almost competed unconsciously the entire match,” Rinehart recalled in 2020. “She was hammering from the front row and the back row. I called a timeout when we were down, 27-26, in Set 1 and I said, ‘Let’s run a 2–Jaali, if there’s a double block, tip right over it,’ and she looked me dead in the eye and said, ‘I’m going to hit it,’ and I just thought, ‘Ok, she’s got this.’ There was a double block, and she did hammer it for a kill. She just had that inner drive. She wanted to be the best, and she understood the responsibility of the ‘go to’ role she was in and she wanted to fulfill it.”
Winters led the team with 461 kills as Centennial earned a No. 19 ranking in the MaxPreps Top 50 national rankings. She was named the Class 5A player of the year and was also selected an Under Armour third-team all-American after finishing her career with 1,635 kills.
In 2018, Winters was named one of Iowa’s top 50 players of all time by The Des Moines Register.
“There are so many great high school memories,” Winters said. “There’s nothing like playing for your hometown and playing solely for the love of the game with your teammates, your coaches and the people around you. I’m indebted to both schools. I had two really great coaches and a lot of great assistants along the way, and it was really special. I’m just feeling really lucky today. I’m excited to celebrate (the Hall of Fame honor) with all of my favorite people.”
Winters went on to enjoy an outstanding career at Creighton, where she set more than 90 school records and was twice named a third-team all-American. As a senior, she was selected Big East Player of the Year and was also the Big East Tournament MVP.
After graduating, Winters played professionally for a total of six years in France, Greece and the Canary Islands before returning to Omaha and is currently playing in one of the two professional leagues in the U.S.
“I’m really just taking it one year at a time, and at this point in my career I’m just making choices that will get me to the next level and continue improving,” Winters said.
Winters marveled at the level of volleyball in Ankeny today, which has now produced a total of 12 state championships–five by Ankeny, four by Centennial and three by ACA.
“It’s incredible to see how great Ankeny volleyball is all the way around,” Winters said. “For me, it’s hard not to be a great volleyball player when you’re from Ankeny because you’re just surrounded by so much support. There are great players and great coaches. Personally, I was just set up to be successful with all of it.”