(Story by Stephen McDaniel)
Over the 14 years of Ankeny Centennial volleyball, the Jaguars have never once fallen short of making a regional championship appearance.
The 2026 season is no different for the sixth-ranked Jaguars.
Centennial rolled to a 25-14, 25-12, 25-16 victory over visiting Council Bluffs Lincoln in a Class 5A regional semifinal on Thursday and will now host Bettendorf in the regional final on Tuesday.
“I thought we did a good job getting the (win),” said Centennial coach Jessica Rinehart, whose team improved to 26-8. “I think a few aspects of the game could’ve been a little cleaner and been a little faster. But for the first regional game, getting in here, playing it and getting it done, I thought we did a good job.”
Sophia Heither got the Jaguars rolling out of the gate as the senior middle hitter hammered a pair of kills and recorded a block for their first three points of the night.
Centennial quickly built its lead up to double digits with kills from Heither, freshman Madi VanBruggen, junior Meryl Sandholm and seniors SIdney Rogers and Ellie Pollock. Fellow seniors Bailey Snyder and Addison Wendt each had an ace during that stretch.
The Jaguars went on a 4-1 run late in the set to put them on set point and ultimately closed it out with Lincoln sending the ball out of play.
The Lynx (17-18) held the lead once all night, and that was when the second set opened with VanBruggen sending a swing wide. Lincoln junior Ana Watkins then recorded one of her team-high 10 kills to give the Lynx a 2-0 advantage.
“We have to do our jobs and we know that whoever comes in (to play), no one wants their season to end, so if we just lock in on our side we know we have the skill to take down anyone,” said junior libero Kaelyn Rinehart.
Heither hammered another kill to spark a 9-1 run that put Centennial ahead 9-3 with Lincoln’s lone point coming off a serving error.
The Jaguars continued to build on their margin with a 7-2 run putting them on the cusp of another double-digit lead.
VanBruggen stepped up to help the Jaguars close out the second set as she tallied four kills within Centennial’s final eight points. A hitting error and a ball sent long from the Lynx clinched the set for Centennial.
With a chance to secure a sweep to open the postseason, the Jaguars opened the third set with a VanBruggen kill, a combined block from Heither and Pollock, and a kill from Pollock to spark an early 10-3 run.
“Something we talk about is just getting two points better in every position,” Kaelyn Rinehart said. “If each position gets a little better this week (in practice), then we’ll hopefully be able to put even more points together.”
Lincoln fought with its backs against the wall and pulled back within three points after Centennial ran into an issue with a jersey number in-game not matching the postseason roster.
Despite Lincoln’s run, the Jaguars immediately answered with six unanswered points to take a 20-11 lead late in the set.
They had more than enough cushion to withstand a second wind from the Lynx before Rogers and fellow senior Olivia Ramsay closed out the set and clinched the sweep with three straight kills.
Centennial knew it was going to get a strong push from an underdog Lynx team after Lincoln posted a 3-0 sweep over Council Bluffs Jefferson in a regional quarterfinal on Tuesday.
“I thought (Lincoln) worked really hard, they were scrappy, they didn’t back down or give up,” said coach RInehart. “I liked that they were our opponent because we did have to work for it, and I thought they did a great job playing until the last point.”
The Jaguars outhit Lincoln by a .330 to .147 margin. Rogers had 11 kills in the win, VanBruggen chipped in 10, and Heither added seven while hitting at a .600 clip.
Emma VandenHull dished out 23 assists. She also completed all 13 of her serves and had one of the team’s six aces.
Heither led the defensive effort with five blocks. Rinehart racked up 16 digs, and Pollock contributed nine.
The victory moved Centennial a step closer to a 13th trip to the state tournament. The only year that the Jaguars failed to qualify for state was in 2019, when they lost in a regional final at Council Bluffs Lincoln.
Centennial will now prepare for a Bettendorf squad that fell out of the top 15 in the final rankings of the season. But the Bulldogs (21-10) are coming off a sweep of their own after posting a 25-17, 25-16, 25-22 win over Muscatine on Thursday.
Bettendorf will be looking to avenge a 21-15, 21-18 loss to Centennial in the Little Hawk Invitational on Sept. 5 at Iowa City High. However, that was seven weeks ago.
“Postseason just brings a whole different side of teams,” said Kaelyn Rinehart. “They don’t want to lose, and the seniors don’t want to lose. We just really have to focus on ourselves and making ourselves better this next week at practice.”
