(Story by Stephen McDaniel)
It’s been 1,087 days since the Ankeny volleyball team managed to defeat crosstown rival Ankeny Centennial, and the Hawkettes knew they were due for a win.
Now that streak has finally come to an end.
The fourth-ranked Hawkettes dropped the first set on Thursday before rallying to knock off No. 3 Centennial in four sets (19-25, 25-23, 28-26, 25-20) for the first time since Oct. 4, 2022.
“It’s like a weight off my shoulders,” said Ankeny junior middle and outside hitter Raquel Risk. “I don’t remember the last time we had a win against (Centennial). So taking it to them in four when we had three (sets) in a row was just very weight-lifting.”
“It feels amazing!” added sophomore outside hitter Hailey Wiederin. “We’ve worked so hard in the offseason and just going into all these CIML games. I’m just so proud of our team and how hard we’ve worked to get here.”
It’s been a long journey for Ankeny after falling to the Jaguars in the last five matchups before Thursday’s Jag-Hawk showdown at Centennial. The most recent loss came in the semifinals of the Centennial tournament on Aug. 30.
Ankeny fell 3-1 to Centennial during the regular season last year and lost three different matchups to the Jaguars during the 2023 season. The last one came in the first round of the Class 5A state tournament in five sets.
The 2022 regular season matchup was Ankeny’s last victory in which the Hawkettes also won 3-1 behind 16 kills from then-junior Tanith Roush and 12 from Aowyn Schrader.
“I’m just ecstatic for the kids because they’ve worked their butts off for several months to be in this position,” said Ankeny coach Liz Baethke, who picked up her first win over Centennial during her tenure as the Hawkettes’ coach. “I was excited, no matter what, to come out and compete tonight.”
While Ankeny closed the match out in four sets, the third set may have been the crucial one that decided the outcome.
The Hawkettes appeared to be on the verge of a 2-1 lead when Risk smashed one of her six kills on the night to give them a 24-21 advantage in Set 3.
Centennial answered by going on a run to tie it up at 24-24 before pushing Ankeny’s back up against the wall twice with 25-24 and 26-25 leads over the Hawkettes.
Risk played a major role in the victory and two of her biggest points of the night came on a block to tie it at 25-25 and smashing a kill to tie it at 26-26. Ankeny then capitalized on a pair of hitting errors to clinch the third set.
“I’m always trying to be the person that brings the most energy,” said Risk, who also had four blocks and completed 13-of-14 serves. “So if I don’t have a good game with my kills or blocking, I always just try to find that energy. I think the combination of having energy, my kills and what I could bring for stats to the team just all flowed together.”
Ankeny then jumped out to an early lead in Set 4. Junior Teagan Moyer and sophomore Elle Isaacson both recorded a block, then Wiederin landed a kill to put the Hawkettes up by six points.
Another brief 3-0 run later in the set gave Ankeny a 17-10 margin, which also happened to be one of the largest leads of the night in this close matchup.
Despite the Jaguars trying to keep their hopes alive, a Quinn Roush block and Wiederin’s 17th kill of the night put Ankeny on the brink of victory. A Centennial service error was the final point needed for the Hawkettes to earn the win that was a long time coming.
“Our team worked so hard to have the discipline that we had been working toward this whole season,” said Wiederin, who also had five blocks. “This game just proved we can pull through.”
The first set of the night favored Centennial as the Jaguars were able to find some separation late in the set despite a six-kill set from Wiederin. Ankeny’s hopes of clawing back ended on a block by Maegan Cheeseman.
But the Hawkettes bounced right back in the second set with Roush playing a big role in helping Ankeny to even the match. She tallied three kills and three blocks to help swing the momentum.
Roush finished with eight kills, a team-high nine blocks and hit a spectacular .800 on a night when no other player hit better than .278. Overall, the Hawkettes outhit Centennial by a .157 to .097 margin.
“(Roush) is a fierce competitor, and her energy is contagious,” Baethke said of her junior middle. “I think a lot of people (overlooked) her for being undersized, but that motivates and drives her. Her vertical is incredible, and she’s a heck of an athlete.”
Marlee Ellison put Ankeny in a spot to win it by tallying a kill to make it 24-20, but the Jaguars clawed their way back and threatened to tie it up after a 3-0 run. Risk stepped up and hammered a kill to clinch the set for Ankeny.
The victory is huge for the Hawkettes outside of just snapping the losing streak.
Ankeny could leapfrog its rival in the 5A rankings next week, and the atmosphere inside Centennial alone was enough to give the team a taste of what future state tournament matchups could be like.
Landing as the No. 2 or 3 ranked team could help the Hawkettes potentially avoid a state semifinals matchup with No. 1 Waukee Northwest if the season reached that point.
“I wish we had this atmosphere for every dual because it’s so cool, and I think the girls look forward to that energy,” Baethke said. “It also gives them an idea of what state is like. Are you going to be able to handle the pressure when you’ve got the crowd into it and they’re targeting people on the court? You’ve got to be able to handle that, and we were calm and composed.”
Ellison and Isaacson each had six kills in the win. Setter Miya Steinkamp dished out 30 assists and also had 14 digs.
Libero Hailey Flanders racked up 31 digs. Madi Anselme added a pair of aces for Ankeny, which managed to overcome its 13 service errors.
Thursday’s match was part of a massive road stretch for the Hawkettes, who have responded so far with wins over Johnston, Southeast Polk and Centennial.
They still have to go on the road to face No. 6 Dowling Catholic on Tuesday before hosting a showdown against Northwest on Oct. 7. The Maroons are 3-1 in the league and 11-7 overall.
But one thing is for sure, the Hawkettes are going to enjoy letting their victory over Centennial soak in before they look to close out the regular season strong.
“It felt like every single year we talked about ‘Oh, we need to beat Centennial and this is our game,’ but it never really stuck through,” Risk said. “I think our team chemistry this year built up so greatly, we had all the connections there, put it together and be who we wanted to be.”
