Liz Baethke

As the injuries continue to pile up for the Ankeny volleyball team, the Hawkettes have still managed to enjoy success on the court. Third-ranked Ankeny defended its title on Saturday at the Waukee Invitational with a 25-18, 25-19 victory over the host Warriors. The Hawkettes (16-7) defeated No. 15 Waukee (8-14) for the third time this season. "We … [Read more...] about ‘It’s a different lineup every week’: Ankeny overcomes injuries to win Waukee title

It's a good time for the Ankeny volleyball team to regroup. The third-ranked Hawkettes went 3-2 on Saturday in the Caroline Found Invitational at Iowa City West. They will have a week off before returning to the court on Saturday at the Waukee Invitational. "I think the timing is going to benefit us so we can heal up and get back to 100 percent," said … [Read more...] about ‘It was just a rough go’: Ailing Hawkettes post 3-2 record at Found Invitational

There's a reason why the top five teams in the Class 5A volleyball rankings are from the CIML Conference. On any given night, a squad that is unprepared for its CIML opponent can easily suffer a defeat. "Honestly, it's hard to call any match an upset because if you are just slightly off with any pieces of your 'A' game, you're going to lose," said … [Read more...] about ‘It was just a complete team effort’: Ankeny outlasts No. 5 Dragons in 5 sets

Saturday's Marj White Classic at Valley showed just how many good volleyball teams are in the CIML Conference. The host Tigers, who entered the tournament ranked 10th in Class 5A with a 2-5 record, defeated all five of their opponents in the round-robin event to win the title. They closed out the day with a 21-15, 13-21, 15-12 victory over No. 3 … [Read more...] about ‘We just didn’t really play clean’: Ankeny spikers finish 3-2 at Marj White Classic

Baileigh Carlsen and Reagan Hanfelt each had three aces, their teammates combined for six more, and the Ankeny volleyball squad cruised to a 25-18, 25-15, 25-16 win over visiting Waukee on Tuesday. Carlsen also completed all 13 of her serves for the eighth-ranked Hawkettes, who went 70-of-74 from behind the line (94.6 percent) while raising their records … [Read more...] about ‘We came out with a lot of energy’: AHS racks up 12 aces in sweep over Waukee

Coach Liz Baethke knew that the season opener for her Ankeny volleyball team was going to be a tall task. Second-ranked Dowling Catholic, which features one of the state's top hitters in Mackenzie Dean and several other tall players, proved to be as formidable as she feared. The Maroons dropped the opening set on their home court before rallying to … [Read more...] about ‘We have a long way to go’: Hawkettes drop opener at No. 2 Dowling in 4 sets

It's been a rough start to the 2023 campaign for new head coach Liz Baethke and the Ankeny volleyball team. Baethke, who left Urbandale after 23 years to take over the Hawkettes' program, will begin the season without Ankeny's top two returning players. Senior right-side hitter Tanith Roush suffered a broken leg during the preseason, while senior outside … [Read more...] about Hawkettes enter season with high hopes despite injuries to Roush, Schrader