(Story by Stephen McDaniel)
It’s never easy scoring multiple wins over the same volleyball team in the same season when playing in the CIML Conference.
But third-ranked Ankeny was able to bounce back from a first set loss on its home court and rallied for a 22-25, 25-12, 25-19, 25-19 victory over No. 14 Waukee in the third meeting between the two squads on Tuesday.
“I feel like we really came together as a team after that unfortunate loss in the first set,” said sophomore setter Kellen Roush, who tallied 47 assists and four kills in the Hawkettes’ win. “It was really fun because everyone really filled in their positions they needed to. Our passers were passing great, and our hitters were really crushing it too.”
Ankeny met Waukee at the start of the season during pool play of the Ankeny Centennial Early Bird Invitational on Aug. 29, which saw the Hawkettes post a 21-11, 21-8 triumph before finishing as the tournament runner-up.
The two squads crossed paths again a few weeks later in a consolation match during the Waukee Invitational on Sept. 19, which also saw the Hawkettes post a 25-20, 25-14 win.
“Waukee came to play tonight, and I warned (the girls),” said Ankeny coach Liz Baethke. “(Waukee) made a lot of errors the last couple of times, we didn’t really do anything to earn (points), many they did to themselves. But tonight, I knew they were going to come to play.”
The Warriors were up to the task of trying to get one back from Ankeny early on and used a 7-2 run to take control of the first set.
Facing a 15-9 deficit, the Hawkettes fired back with a 12-4 run powered by senior Marlee Ellison and juniors Hailey Wiederin and Elle Isaacson that gave them a 21-19 advantage.
Waukee countered with a 6-1 run to claim the first set off the back of an eight-kill set from senior Malia Rogers.
Ankeny held Rogers to just 10 total kills during the previous four sets played this season, but the Purdue recruit more than doubled that production Tuesday with 21 of the Warriors’ 43 kills.
“It felt like our energy was kind of off (during the first set),” Roush said. “But once we got it back together, that game was so fun to play in those last three sets. Everyone really started to play for each other.”
Part of what makes the Hawkettes so dangerous is the various spots where they can attack with Wiederin, Ellison and Isaacson patrolling outside while mixing in occasional back row attacks, along with a middle tandem of Quinn Roush and Raquel Risk.
Kellen Roush had no shortage of places to place the ball, and the Warriors struggled to contain Ankeny’s attack like they did in the first set.
By the end of the night, Wiederin smashed a match-high 24 kills.
Ellison contributed 14 kills, Isaacson had 11, Quinn Roush chipped in six, and Risk added three.
“It’s so fun because I never feel like I’m stuck when I’m setting,” Roush said. “I have Hailey, Quinn, Raquel, Marlee and Elle, even in the back row I have them too and that’s also always so helpful. You have so many options, and it feels like the other team just never knows where to go.”
The Hawkettes responded to their first set loss in dominating fashion.
Ankeny opened up the second set on a 4-1 run and later held an 11-8 margin.
Back-to-back kills from Wiederin and Ellison got the snowball rolling down hill, and Ankeny’s lead quickly blossomed out to as much as 13 points as the Hawkettes outscored Waukee, 14-4, the rest of the set.
The largest lead Waukee was able to hold in the ensuing third set was two points before Ankeny went on a 14-5 run and swayed the set in the favor of the Hawkettes.
“I told them that the great takeaway was that we came out a little bit sluggish, but we turned it around and brought the energy,” said Baethke, whose team outhit the Warriors by a .436 to .181 margin. “Sometimes earlier in the season, we’d come out and nothing would change. So that’s been a part of our growth so far.”
Waukee nearly clawed its way back into the set by cutting its deficit down to three points before Ankeny responded with a 5-2 run and got a kill from Wiederin to close out the set.
A trio of kills and a pair of aces from Wiederin helped the Hawkettes blast out the gates with a 13-5 lead to open up the fourth set. Waukee then answered with an 8-0 run to tie it up at 13-13.
Wiederin, Isaacson and Quinn Roush got Ankeny out of a rut and helped the Hawkettes reclaim a five-point lead. Ellison and Wiederin tacked on one last kill each before a service error from the Warriors clinched Ankeny’s victory.
Wiederin finished with four aces on the night, while Isaacson and Katelyn Mescher each had three. Mescher completed all 16 of her serves, Ellison had a team-high 11 digs, and Risk racked up five blocks.
The win allowed Ankeny to maintain sole possession of second place in the conference. The Hawkettes are now 6-1 in the league and 25-6 overall, while Waukee’s records dropped to 2-5 and 13-16.
No. 1 Waukee Northwest clinched the outright conference title with a sweep at No. 11 Valley. The Wolves finished 8-0 in the league for the second straight year.
“We’ve just got to keep our energy (heading toward the postseason) and keep playing for each other and not independently, I think that always helps us out a lot,” Roush said.
The Hawkettes will host the Ankeny Quadrangular on Saturday. Class 4A No. 1 Norwalk (24-5), Cedar Rapids Xavier (9-9) and Omaha (Neb.) Westside will round out the field.
