Ankeny Christian Academy took a successful first step toward a fourth consecutive state volleyball championship.
The seventh-ranked Eagles rolled to a 25-10, 25-7, 25-9 victory over visiting Melcher-Dallas in the opening round of a Class 1A regional tournament on Monday. ACA had defeated the Saints by almost identical scores in the Bluegrass Conference tournament on Tuesday.
“It was pretty smooth,” said ACA coach Michele Quick. “We played them last week, and it was kind of the same result.”
The Eagles (26-13) outhit Melcher-Dallas by a .297 to minus-.077 margin. The Saints, who finished the season at 6-12, had more hitting errors (11) than kills (7).
“No team is easy (to beat),” said ACA junior Katelyn Weathers. “We have to give 100 percent, but it did give us confidence in this game that we had beaten them last week.”
ACA dominated the match with its aggressive serving. The Eagles completed 69-of-71 serves (97.2 percent) and racked up 22 aces, eight of them by Ella Leever.
“We always serve aggressive. We look to serve aggressive,” said Quick, whose team ranks fourth in the entire state with 291 aces. “Sometimes we just need to get it over, but we like to move the ball around in the back row as well so that we keep the defense on the other side moving and trying to get them out of system.”
Weathers had six aces for the Eagles, including four in a row during one stretch of the third set. Havanna Dolbeare added four more.
“Serving is very important to us,” Weathers said. “It’s what starts off the point, and if you can get the defense out of rhythm, that’s what we want to do. So we want to serve tough and not just keep them in.”
Dolbeare, a freshman, had 12 of the Eagles’ 30 kills. Breeze Bentz chipped in seven, and Leever contributed four.
Setter Avlyn Davis dished out 24 assists, while Liv Nehring led the defense with three blocks. Leever had nine digs, and Weathers added seven.
“It’s just one game at a time,” Weathers said. “We’re not focusing on any other games until after this next one, which will be Martensdale-St. Marys. We just have to stay focused and keep our mind on the goal. We have to stay locked in at practice–no goofing off or anything.”
The Eagles will host Martensdale-St. Marys (12-14) in a regional quarterfinal on Wednesday at 7 p.m. The Blue Devils advanced with a sweep over Seymour.
ACA needs three more wins to earn another state tournament berth, then three more to achieve the ultimate goal that it accomplished in each of the previous three years.
“There’s always pressure,” Quick said. “Obviously, after three years (of winning the title), there’s always pressure. But we’re just taking it one day at a time–one moment at a time. We’re just trying to prepare for each step as we continue to go through this.”
