The search for a way to beat the top-ranked Waukee Northwest volleyball team continues for No. 2 Ankeny Centennial.
The Jaguars dropped a 21-15, 23-21 decision to Northwest in the semifinals of the Metro Classic on Saturday at Southeast Polk. The Wolves (16-0) defeated Centennial (15-3) for the third time this season.
Northwest also beat Centennial in the semifinals of last year’s Metro Classic and later defeated the Jaguars again in a five-set match in the Class 5A semifinals.
“I thought we played really well in the second set against them,” said Centennial coach Jessica Rinehart, whose team’s only losses have come against the Wolves. “It was high-level volleyball with big plays by both teams. We were aggressive and had opportunities to win.”
Tatem Schmidt and Mady Ott each had four kills for the Jaguars, who hit just .052 in the loss. Maegan Cheeseman and Sidney Rogers each added three.
Rogers also recorded a team-high five blocks. She shared playing time with Ott at middle hitter, where Centennial tried to overcome the absence of junior Sophia Heither.
Heither suffered an injury during the Little Hawk Invitational on Sept. 6 at Iowa City High, but could be back in the lineup later this month.
“We got great news on Sophia’s knee,” Rinehart said. “She sprained her MCL. We’re still waiting on a time frame for her return, but we hope to have her back soon!”
Cheeseman dished out six assists and also had nine digs. Schmidt had five assists and added a pair of blocks.
Mya Lei-Butters and Kaelyn Rinehart each contributed seven digs. Rinehart also completed all nine of her serves and had one of the team’s three aces.
“We’ve struggled to play consistently against Northwest so far this season,” Rinehart said. “Hopefully, we can figure that out and face them again at the Urbandale tournament (on Oct. 4).”
Centennial went 3-0 to win Pool C earlier in the day. The Jaguars posted wins over Norwalk (21-13, 21-8), Oskaloosa (21-9, 21-5) and North Polk (24-22, 21-14).
The Jaguars got six kills from Schmidt and hit .275 in the victory over Norwalk (11-6), the No. 4 team in Class 4A.
“Overall on the day, I thought we played great ball,” Rinehart said. “We played super clean against Norwalk. We were firing on all cylinders!”
Centennial will host a CIML Conference match against No. 8 Dowling Catholic on Tuesday. The Maroons are 2-0 in the league and 6-6 overall.