(Story by Stephen McDaniel)
The last time the Ankeny Christian Academy volleyball team stepped foot on the court at Xtream Arena, the Eagles cemented their place in Iowa high school history with a third consecutive Class 1A state championship.
The 2026 Eagles may look different, but they’re hoping for the same result.
Top-ranked Ankeny Christian is heading back to Coralville for the first time since capping off its threepeat in 2024 after the Eagles swept Stanton in a 25-16, 25-14, 25-8 victory in a regional final on Wednesday at Van Meter.
“It’s one of the best feelings in the world, it almost feels unreal a little bit,” said junior rightside hitter Breeze Bentz. “We’ve just come so far since last year. We put in all the work this summer and the strength of practices have shown how far we’ve come. I’m just so proud of these girls.”
Punching their ticket back to the Class 1A tournament is an even sweeter feeling for the Eagles, who had their season come to an end in the regional final last year.
ACA didn’t get the chance to defend its crown in 2025 after falling in four sets to BCLUW, which had lost to the Eagles in the title match one year earlier.
So there’s plenty of excitement for an ACA squad looking to reclaim its spot at the top of Class 1A volleyball.
“It’s so exciting, especially coming back from last year,” said senior libero Katelyn Weathers. “We knew we weren’t done, and we’re so excited for the week ahead. Whatever happens will happen, and we just want to give God all the glory for everything.”
Even though the Eagles held the top spot in 1A since the second IGHSAU rankings of the season, they focused on the journey to get back to state before they could start planning for their return.
Sweeps over Exira-EHK and CAM put them in a spot to make it back to state, and the Eagles handled their business against Stanton in similar fashion.
ACA hit the ground running to open up the first set with Bentz landing two aces to fuel a 4-0 run before the Eagles snowballed their lead up to 15-3 midway through the set.
Stanton started to heat up and managed to pull within six points after going on an 8-2 run to close the gap.
“Sending a message that early is really important,” said ACA coach Michele Quick, whose team improved to 38-2 on the season. “We let some points come back at us, but it was more on us than them earning them. We just have to clean that stuff up when we’re making multiple errors. When we have that kind of lead, it does give us some grace for sure.”
ACA turned to its star sophomore outside hitter Havanna Dolbeare to bring the Eagles to the finish line. Dolbeare smashed four kills among the team’s final six points to clinch the set.
The Viqueens (17-21) were able to tie the second set at 5-5 before ACA ran away with things.
A kill from Dolbeare sparked a 4-0 run, and the Eagles recorded two other 4-0 runs during the set to give them a 19-9 margin.
Dolbeare and freshmen Maleah Porter and Dani Craighead all tallied kills down the stretch before the Viqueens sent a ball long to put ACA on the brink of another sweep.
“This night is harder than any other night because it’s all on the line,” Quick said. “Anything can change, and anything can happen. I was really proud of our girls. They were a little tight, which was expected because of their age, but they also stayed in control.”
The third and final set was ACA’s most dominant of the night.
After being tied at 2-2 early on, the Eagles went on a 12-3 run to force a Stanton timeout. They then held the Viqueens to just three more points while closing out the match.
Sophomore setter Avlyn Davis served three consecutive aces to give ACA a 20-7 lead before the trio of Dolbeare, Bentz and Craighead closed things out to send the Eagles back to state.
“(Winning this match) is a huge weight off our shoulders, but we do know that our job is not done yet,” Bentz said. “It’s almost the first step again because it’ll be a clean slate at state, and everyone is going to be coming in to win. We just have to come in with that same fire we’ve had all season, and I know we can do it.”
No two players on the Eagles know more about what it takes to win a state title than Weathers and Bentz.
Weathers, as a sophomore defensive specialist, and Bentz, as a freshman rightside hitter, were both rotational players for the Eagles’ 2024 championship team. Weathers was also a freshman on the 2023 title squad as well.
“(The younger girls) have to understand that it’s a whole different atmosphere,” Weathers said of playing in the state tournament. “It’s the same game of volleyball, but you have the adrenaline, the crowds, the noise and just everything. They just have to stay calm, play their position, let others play their position, and take it one point at a time.”
The Eagles will open their state tournament run against a team making its first-ever appearance at state.
ACA earned the No. 1 seed in Class 1A and will play No. 8 West Monona (25-8) in the quarterfinals. The match is slated for Tuesday at 6 p.m. on Court One.
The winner will play No. 4 Wapsie Valley (28-15) or No. 5 Holy Trinity Catholic (30-6) in the semifinals on Wednesday at 6 p.m. The championship match is slated for Thursday at 7 p.m.
