A year ago, the Ankeny Centennial volleyball team got over a big hurdle by advancing to the Class 5A championship match for the first time since 2018.
Taking the next step and winning a state title will be an even bigger challenge.
CIML Conference rival Waukee Northwest enters the season as the favorite to capture its third crown in four years. The Wolves completed one of the most dominating seasons in Iowa prep history with a 25-10, 25-21, 25-18 victory over Centennial in last year’s final.
Northwest won 52 consecutive sets to close out a 38-1 season. The Wolves graduated just two seniors, so they are clearly the team to beat if they can find a replacement for all-state setter Avery Vogt.
“I think 5A is going to be wild,” said Centennial coach Jessica Rinehart, whose team is No. 10 in the preseason rankings from the Iowa Girls’ High School Athletic Union. “There is so much talent throughout the state and now Dallas Center-Grimes is in the mix, and they are very talented as well. The CIML is going to be really tough, and I feel like the teams that focus on growth and stay the course will be the ones standing at the end.”
Centennial will get a chance to play Northwest right away as the two teams participate in the Marj White Classic on Thursday. The four-team event will be played outdoors at Valley Stadium.
Unlike Northwest, the Jaguars suffered some heavy losses to graduation. Libero Mya Lei-Butters and outside hitter/setter Tatem Schmidt both departed after being named to the Class 5A all-tournament team.
Setter Maegan Cheeseman, who earned all-state honors along with Lei-Butters and Schmidt, will also have to be replaced. And middle hitter Mady Ott, a second-team all-conference pick, graduated as well from a team that finished with a 34-6 record.
“The Jaguars had an awesome summer and preseason,” Rinehart said. “We competed well at the Creighton, Kansas and Iowa State team camps. This team probably packed more into the summer and preseason than any Jaguar team in the past. We knew having a younger team that we wanted to get in as much experience and live play as we could–the girls were up for it–and it was just a really, really fun and productive summer.”
Centennial returns three regulars from a team that tied Dowling Catholic for second place in the conference at 6-2. They are senior outside hitter Ellie Pollock, senior middle hitter Sophia Heither and junior Kaelyn Rinehart, who can play multiple positions.
Pollock placed third on the team with 178 kills as a junior. She was fourth on the squad with 245 digs and ranked fifth in aces with 29.
After starting her varsity career as a defensive specialist, Pollock became one of the Jaguars’ primary hitters a year ago. She was named to the all-conference third team.
Heither placed fourth on the team with 154 kills, despite missing seven matches due to an injury. She led the Jaguars with a .311 hitting percentage.
Heither also racked up a team-high 79 blocks. She earned all-conference honorable mention along with Rinehart.
“I do think we’ll look to our returners to lead us through, but we also have a really hungry group of seniors that have worked really hard and are ready for the opportunity to compete at the varsity level,” Rinehart said.
The coach’s daughter led the team with 45 aces and placed third on the squad with 265 digs. She also had 65 kills.
Rinehart will take over the libero spot that was vacated by Lei-Butters. She has verbally committed to play for South Dakota.
“Kaelyn played libero this past club season and gained good experience at that level,” Rinehart said.
Senior middle hitter Sidney Rogers and senior outside hitter Bailey Snyder are among the team’s other returnees. They both played in 29 matches a year ago.
Rogers had 81 kills and 37 blocks. Snyder, an Oklahoma Christian University recruit, contributed 59 kills.
Senior Emma VandenHull is expected to share the setting duties with sophomore Kenna Sorensen. VandenHull played in four matches as a junior and dished out eight assists.
“Those two have been doing a great job developing relationships with the hitters and giving their hitters good opportunities,” Rinehart said. “They are really a perfect pair to run a 6-2 (offense) because their size and their release is very similar which is helpful when running a 6-2.”
Freshman Madi VanBruggen is a newcomer who will likely make an immediate impact.
“She brings physicality, can put a ball away and is super versatile where we can use her on the outside or the right side,” Rinehart said. “We will use her where we need her most.”
The Jaguars will face Northwest on Thursday at 7:45 p.m., followed by a matchup against Waukee at 9. They will then host the Centennial Early Bird Invitational on Saturday.