A year ago, the Ankeny volleyball team posted a four-set victory at Ankeny Centennial to defeat its crosstown rival for the first time since 2022.
On Tuesday, the third-ranked Hawkettes did it again–in remarkably similar fashion.
Ankeny overcame a one-set deficit to post a 15-25, 25-19, 25-18, 25-14 victory at No. 6 Centennial. The Hawkettes also dropped the first set last year before sweeping the next three.
“We started running a 5-1 (offense) just to have the same tempo and setter,” Ankeny junior Elle Isaacson said of her team’s adjustments after the first set. “This happened to us last year, and we got in the huddle and we were like, ‘This is not happening again.'”
Hailey Wiederin pounded 20 kills and Kellen Roush racked up 40 assists as the Hawkettes outhit Centennial by a .353 to .180 margin. They improved to 2-0 in the CIML Conference and 18-3 overall, while the Jaguars’ records dropped to 1-2 and 13-5.
“It feels so awesome,” said Wiederin, who recorded her 500th career kill during the win. “It’s such a fun environment to be in, and we truly love playing them. It’s so much fun.”
The win was also the second in a row against the Jaguars for Ankeny coach Liz Baethke, who took over the Hawkettes’ program in 2023. She went 0-4 in the rivalry during her first two seasons.
“I have always felt since I’ve been at Ankeny that regardless of the outcome here, it changes our trajectory. It just seems like it really turns the season around,” said Baethke. “The kids really enjoy this rivalry and enjoy playing here. Centennial, being able to get this crowd here, has been amazing the three times I’ve been here.”
Ankeny’s win was even more convincing than last year’s victory, when the Hawkettes scored only three more total points than Centennial. On Tuesday, the margin between the two teams was 14 points–including 24 over the last three sets.
“It feels so good,” Isaacson said. “I feel like we worked really hard in practices. This was a super big game, so coming out here and performing super well is really exciting.”
Centennial used a 14-2 run to erase an 8-5 deficit in the first set and eventually closed out its only win when a spike attempt by Wiederin landed out of bounds. The Hawkettes were coming off a loss to No. 10 Iowa City Liberty in the Caroline Found Invitational on Saturday at Iowa City West.
“After the weekend, we had a little bit of a sluggish start,” Baethke said. “It wasn’t a horrible end to the (tournament), but it wasn’t what we wanted. So we just thought we needed to go back to camp and regroup–reorganize.”
The Jaguars got a kill from Sophia Heither to begin Set 2, but Wiederin answered with a kill to force a sideout. Isaacson then served the next five points as Ankeny took the lead for good.
The Hawkettes later closed out the set on a kill by Marlee Ellison, one of her 13 on the night.
“I think serving’s a big controllable,” said Isaacson, who completed 26-of-27 serves and had four of her team’s nine aces while also contributing seven kills. “It’s like the one thing that you personally control so just getting it in, getting the ball back and getting a run was huge.”
Ankeny got a kill from Raquel Risk to break an 8-8 tie in the third set. Wiederin then took over, smashing five kills before serving an ace to extend the Hawkettes’ margin to 18-12.
Wiederin eventually had another kill to close out the set.
“I think it’s only up from here. I think we can do a lot more,” Wiederin said. “I don’t even think we played to our full potential. We can play even better than that.”
After the Jaguars took an early 3-0 lead in the fourth set, Ankeny got the ball back when Quinn Roush blasted a kill off her sister’s assist. Quinn had eight kills while posting a .636 hitting percentage and led the Hawkettes with seven blocks.
“It’s awesome the way Kellen has the ball going everywhere,” said Ankeny libero Katelyn Mescher, who combined with Roush for 25 digs in the win. “The blockers never know where it’s going.”
Isaacson then served the next four points, capped off by an ace, to give Ankeny a 5-3 lead. She later had a kill to ignite a 10-1 run that closed out the match.
After Isaacson served another ace, Wiederin followed with back-to-back kills to make it 19-13. Mescher later served consecutive aces to finish off the Jaguars.
“It just felt good to end it,” Mescher said. “We just needed to settle in (after the first set) and calm down in the huddle, but once we did that it was good from there.”
Baethke said the team’s adjustments paid off for the Hawkettes, who are one of three remaining unbeaten teams in conference play. The others are No. 1 Waukee Northwest and No. 4 Dowling Catholic, who are both 3-0 in the league and will face off in a showdown on Thursday at Dowling.
“I’ve really been trying to keep people healthy,” Baethke said. “We do have some teetering on potential injuries, and I’m just trying to be really careful and get some rest with certain players. I just felt like it wasn’t in the cards tonight. It worked out well because I do think it was a different energy once I switched things up.”
Ankeny won’t have much time to enjoy its victory. The Hawkettes will host a conference match on Thursday against No. 8 Valley, which is 2-1 in the league and 11-5 overall.
