It was going to take a monumental upset for the Ankeny volleyball team to advance to Thursday’s championship match in the Class 5A state tournament.
It didn’t happen, but it wasn’t due to a lack of effort.
“I am so proud of this team,” said Ankeny junior Marlee Ellison. “We’ve worked so hard all season, and we just have a really great bond. I think it’s really unique, because a lot of teams aren’t as close as we are. We’re all best friends, and we all support each other no matter what. It’s just been a really great season.”
The sixth-ranked Hawkettes closed out a 28-9 campaign with a 25-12, 25-15, 25-20 loss to No. 1 Waukee Northwest in the semifinals on Wednesday at Xtream Arena in Coralville. It was the 20th straight victory for the Wolves (37-1), who prevented an all-Ankeny showdown against No. 2 Ankeny Centennial (34-5) in the title match.
Northwest also defeated the Hawkettes in last year’s quarterfinals. The Wolves have now won 49 straight sets, including a sweep at Ankeny on Oct. 7.
“I thought with our game plan we needed to limit our mistakes,” said Ankeny coach Liz Baethke. “We were aggressive, and we had some great rallies. I thought there were times when they were so lucky.”
Northwest never trailed in the opening set. The Wolves jumped out to an early 8-2 lead, capped off by back-to-back blocks.
On the first of those blocks, the ball deflected off another Northwest player before going over the net and falling to the floor.
(The ball) would land right in their lap,” Baethke said. “We’d execute to the highest ability, and it still wasn’t falling. I’m just proud of our girls for sticking with it.”
The Wolves outhit Ankeny by a .373 to .163 margin, including a .565 efficiency in Set 1. They closed out the set with a 5-0 run, capped off by one of Logan Vogt’s 19 kills.
The Hawkettes took their first lead of the match in Set 2, 2-1, after a kill and block by Hailey Wiederin. The sophomore finished with a team-high seven kills and three blocks.
Ankeny trailed by just 15-13 before the Wolves closed out the set with a 10-2 run.
“We just wanted to give it all we had,” Baethke said. “We had a lot of fight, and there were no regrets. We played as hard as we could.”
The Hawkettes tried to rally in Set 3, when they jumped out to a 9-1 lead that included back-to-back kills from Raquel Risk and another from Ellison.
“I think we just had energy,” Ellison said. “We knew we had nothing to lose. Northwest is a great team, and we just came out there balls out. We wanted to win it really bad.”
Ankeny setter Macie Kohl said her team found some holes in the Northwest defense for awhile, putting the Wolves in an unfamiliar position.
“We looked at their lineup, and we wanted to set whoever had the shortest blocker,” Kohl said. “We were just trying to set up who could be most successful that way.”
The Wolves didn’t panic, though, and eventually tied it up at 13-13 on an ace by Avery Cordes, who had six kills, five blocks and four aces in the win.
“Just staying calm really helped us,” said Northwest setter Avery Vogt, who had seven kills and 38 assists for the Wolves. “We kind of knew what we needed to fix, and we made sure that we fixed it right away and didn’t let them get any more momentum.”
Northwest later took a 19-16 lead on consecutive kills by Logan Vogt, but the Hawkettes answered with a pair of points to keep their hopes alive.
“We know they’re a good team, and we have to outlast the play,” Kohl said. “But that’s just volleyball.”
The Wolves then closed out the match with a 6-2 run. They outhit Ankeny by a smaller margin in Set 3 (.279 to .231).
“We just talked a lot about blocking,” Baethke said. “For us, it was about our ball control and mixing it up so that they’re not setting up with their two 6-foot blockers in each spot. If they can do that, it’s not going to end well.”
Piper Ladwig had 10 kills and London Taylor racked up 16 digs for the Wolves, who are trying to win their second title in three years.
Ellison and Risk each had five kills for Ankeny. Kohl dished out 11 assists, and Miya Steinkamp added 10.
Madi Anselme had the Hawkettes’ only ace. Hailey Flanders chipped in 10 digs.
Baethke will now have to replace 10 seniors.
“I’m sad to see our senior kids go, but I’m also excited for the future,” she said.
Several key players will return, including Ellison and Wiederin. Junior setter Gracyn Adams is also expected back after missing the season due to a knee injury.
“I’m super excited,” Ellison said. “I think we’re going to come back really strong next year. We want to win it. We’re here to win.”
