Thursday night’s Marj White Classic at Valley Stadium was a smashing success.
All four participating volleyball teams got a unique opportunity to play outdoors under the lights. With very little wind and temperatures in the 70s, the conditions could not have been any better for this special event.
“It was a really cool opportunity for our team,” said Ankeny Centennial libero Kaelyn Rinehart. “It was probably a once-in-a-lifetime thing.”
The 10th-ranked Jaguars were joined in the event by three of their CIML Conference rivals–No. 1 Waukee Northwest, No. 12 Waukee and No. 13 Valley. In the end, all four teams came away with a split on the night.
Centennial got off to a rough start in its season opener against Northwest. The defending state champion Wolves cruised to a 25-8, 25-17 victory in a rematch of last year’s Class 5A final.
The Jaguars then bounced back with a 25-18, 25-9 win over Waukee, which had earlier defeated Valley in three sets. The Tigers then rallied to beat Northwest in three sets.
“It was fun to be out here,” said Centennial coach Jessica Rinehart. “It was a good atmosphere, and I thought we played well the second match.”
Centennial scored 32 of the last 41 points in its victory over Waukee. The two teams were tied at 18-18 in the opening set before Sidney Rogers pounded a kill to ignite a 7-0 run that closed out the set.
Bailey Snyder served the final six points and had back-to-back aces in the run.
“In practice we do a lot of (serving) and I do private lessons and work on it all the time so it’s just something that really betters the game and it’s something that is very important,” Snyder said. “I think service runs are vital to the game.”
The Jaguars took a 5-2 lead in Set 2 on an ace by Rinehart. They later extended the margin to 13-4 when a serve by Snyder hit the net and dropped in for another ace.
Centennial eventually closed out the match on yet another ace by Ellie Pollock.
“We are good servers, and good serving can obviously help,” said coach Rinehart, whose team got an ace from setter Emma VandenHull to open the match. “I thought we served great that second match.”
Snyder said the Jaguars settled down following the loss to Northwest.
“We flipped a switch,” she said. “We knew that that game wasn’t us at all so we knew something had to change and we changed it, and it went well.”
Earlier, Northwest jumped out to a 5-1 lead against Centennial and never looked back. The Jaguars got a kill from Sophia Heither to pull within 11-6, but that was as close as they could get.
The Wolves then went on a 14-2 run and closed out the first set on a kill by Lydia Burrell.
“We came in with the right mindset,” said Kaelyn Rinehart. “Practice went great, but things just didn’t start well for us. It was a learning experience and got us ready for the next one.”
The Wolves built a 17-8 advantage in Set 2 before Centennial rallied. The Jaguars closed the gap to 21-17 and forced Northwest coach Jodi Vogt to call a timeout.
The Wolves then answered with four straight points and closed out the match on an ace by London Taylor.
“I think the first match we had several things going on,” coach Rinehart said. “Waukee Northwest is always tough. It was a new environment, and we had a ton of players playing their first varsity game ever. And so we’re just going to flush that one.”
The Centennial players had some time before the match to warm up on the court and to adjust to the unusual environment.
“I’m glad we did that, but I don’t think it could have been worse the first game. I’m not sure it helped,” coach Rinehart said. “We did switch sides from where we warmed up, so I don’t know if that had anything to do with it. But I am glad that we got the opportunity to be on the court before it started. It extended the night and made it memorable.”
Snyder called it an unforgettable experience.
“I’m so glad I got to experience it my senior year,” she said. “I never thought I would play on a football field. I always wanted to, so I’m glad I got to have that experience.”
The Jaguars will host the Centennial Early Bird Invitational on Saturday. Northwest, Waukee, Valley and No. 3 Ankeny will be among the teams in the field.
“We want to play so bad right now, but hopefully we’ll get another chance on Saturday at our home tournament to play these teams,” Kaelyn Rinehart said.
