Ankeny Centennial’s Jessica Rinehart reached another coaching milestone on Saturday during the Urbandale Invitational.
Rinehart earned her 400th career victory–all of them at Centennial–when the second-ranked Jaguars completed a perfect 3-0 run through pool play with a 21-15, 18-21, 15-10 win over North Polk, the No. 15 team in Class 4A.
“I don’t really think about milestones,” said Rinehart. “The only match I’m thinking about is the next one. And on Saturday, those (wins) hard to come by.”
Adilyne Reyes pounded nine kills in the victory over the Comets (15-12). Maegan Cheeseman dished out 26 assists and had a pair of aces, while Ellie Pollock racked up nine digs.
Cheeseman also had an historic day on Saturday. The senior setter surpassed the 1,000-assist career mark.
“It was so cool reaching (the milestone) at the same time as Jess,” said Cheeseman. “I obviously wouldn’t have been able to do it without her. I am so happy to have a coach as amazing as her.”
Rinehart is the only coach that Centennial has ever had. She started the program when the school opened its doors in 2013 and has led the Jaguars to 10 30-win seasons, including four state championships.
Centennial advanced to the semifinals of Saturday’s tournament before dropping a 21-17, 21-10 decision to No. 1 Waukee Northwest. The Jaguars are now 22-5 on the season–with four of the losses coming to the Wolves.
Rinehart’s squad played most of the tournament without senior Tatem Schmidt, who has racked up a team-high 176 kills this season.
“Tatem went home sick after the first match,” Rinehart said. “She’s a six-rotation player and we run a lot of offense through her, so that made things challenging. Fortunately, we found ways to win in the close games. I’m hoping to get everyone back, healthy and moving forward.”
Centennial opened the tournament with a pair of easy victories. The Jaguars rolled past Des Moines Roosevelt (21-7, 21-9) and Ottumwa (21-18, 21-8).
After Centennial defeated North Polk for the second time this season, the team advanced to bracket play. The Jaguars then rallied for a 12-21, 21-19, 15-13 triumph over Sioux City North (12-8) in the quarterfinals.
Sophia Heither had 10 kills and hit .500 in the win over Sioux City North. Mady Ott added five kills, while Cheeseman contributed 22 assists and two blocks.
Mya Lei-Butters had 11 digs and two aces. Kaelyn Rinehart also had a pair of aces for the Jaguars, who overcame nine service errors in the match.
Centennial continued to struggle with its serving in the loss to Waukee Northwest. The Jaguars had six service errors in just 28 attempts for a 78.6 percent completion rate.
Heither had a team-high four kills, but Centennial finished with as many hitting errors as kills (nine) in 42 total attacks. That resulted in a .000 hitting percentage.
Ott had three blocks for the Jaguars. Lei-Butters chipped in five digs, and Nora Bockes added three aces.
The Wolves (29-1) went on to post a 21-8, 21-14 victory in the championship match over Western Christian, the No. 1 team in Class 3A.
“I think we adjusted well (without Schmidt), but we could have definitely played cleaner ball,” Cheeseman said. “I’m so proud of Sidney (Rogers) and Nora for stepping into a new role. They both killed it.”
Centennial will travel to Johnston on Tuesday for a CIML Conference match against the Dragons, who are 1-5 in the league and 13-15 overall.