(Story by Stephen McDaniel)
The good news for the Ankeny Centennial volleyball team is that the fifth-ranked Jaguars secured their third consecutive sweep ahead of their matchup with No. 1 Waukee Northwest.
The bad news is that Centennial lost a core piece to its lineup in the process, and the Jaguars are keeping their fingers tightly crossed that it’s not too severe.
Senior outside hitter Ellie Pollock suffered an ankle injury during the first set of Thursday’s match at Southeast Polk, and Centennial had to battle through illness as well on its way to a 25-20, 25-14, 25-16 victory over the Rams.
“It would be hard (losing Pollock),” said Centennial coach Jessica Rinehart. “She’s a six-rotation player, she passes and plays defense, she swings on the outside, she carries a huge load for our team, and she’s really stepped up as a leader in her senior year. We’re hoping for the best news, but it would be a big loss.”
Pollock went down late in a competitive first set as the Jaguars held onto a 17-16 lead over the Rams. A cross-court spike from Southeast Polk’s Alayna Goldsberry went in the direction of Pollock, and a rolled ankle attempting to reach the ball ultimately sidelined her for the remainder of the night.
Pollock is a key piece to Centennial’s lineup after coming off a season where she ranked third on the team in kills with 178, tied for fifth on the team with 37 blocks and fifth on the team with 29 aces during the Jaguars’ run to a second-place finish in Class 5A. This fall, Pollock had played in every single set and had recorded 67 kills, 10 blocks and 14 aces.
Pollock was diagnosed on Friday with a sprained ankle after x-rays were negative. She is hoping to be back in action next week.
“It’s really hard (seeing Pollock go down), and it definitely was a lower note in that set,” said fellow senior Sophia Heither. “We’re hoping that she’s ok and that she’ll be back for the Tuesday game (against Northwest).”
On top of losing Pollock, the Jaguars also had to battle an illness to sophomore setter Kenna Sorensen that limited her to just two sets of action. Centennial turned to the sister tandem of sophomore outside hitter Ella Whitver and eighth grade setter Elin Whitver to help fill some of the gaps.
Rinehart looked to Ella to substitute in for Pollock, and Whitver immediately recorded her first varsity kill of the season to give Centennial an 18-17 lead. She aided the Jaguars in closing the first set out on a 7-3 run.
As an eighth grader, Elin had already played in three sets with six assists prior to Thursday’s matchup. She nearly doubled her assists total with five assists in her two sets against the Rams.
“It was awesome, and I’m so proud of the Whitver girls,” Heither said. “They really stepped up in their roles when we needed them to, and I’m just so proud of how they stepped up to the plate, contributed and did their job just like we asked.”
After pulling away late in the first set, the Jaguars were able to claim the second and third sets a little more easily.
A Southeast Polk service error sparked a 7-1 run that gave Centennial a 15-8 lead midway through the second set. Another service error that was followed by one of freshman Madi VanBruggen’s team-high 13 kills on the night fueled a 10-3 run to close out the set.
The Jaguars fell behind 3-1 in the third set, but turned it into a 10-4 lead with a 9-1 run that was also sparked by a kill from VanBruggen. The margin grew to 19-10 before the Rams attempted to claw their way back into the set.
Centennial clinched the sweep with the team’s only ace from senior Emma VandenHull and kills from Ella Whitver, Heither and VanBruggen in a 4-1 run that finished off the Rams. The Jaguars improved to 4-2 in the CIML Conference and 16-5 overall, while Southeast Polk’s records dropped to 1-4 and 7-7.
“It felt good to get back on the winning side. Unfortunately, tonight we had injury and sickness all in the same match,” Rinehart said. “I thought our girls did a good job of just locking in and finding ways to get it done.”
Bailey Snyder had eight kills in the win, Heither chipped in seven and Ella Whitver added six. VandenHull dished out 24 assists.
Kaelyn Rinehart racked up 18 digs and also completed 18-of-19 serves. Addison Wendt contributed nine digs.
Centennial will travel to Waukee on Tuesday and try to play the role of a spoiler. The Wolves (6-0, 15-2) can clinch at least a share of the league title with a victory.
The Jaguars opened the season with a 25-8, 25-17 loss to Northwest in the Marj White Classic at Valley Stadium. If Pollock is unable to play, the challenge for Centennial will be even greater.
“We just have to be super scrappy, and getting into a really competitive mindset going into that game is going to help us,” Heither said. “We need everyone to do their job and do really well. I think we’re going to get a bunch of reps the next couple of days and that’ll help us out and make everyone confident going into Tuesday.”
