Centennial finally cashes in, returns to final

CEDAR RAPIDS — As Ankeny Centennial stormed through the first two sets, this looked like an ordinary match. A mismatch.

Gradually, ordinary became extraordinary. And a mismatch became a classic.

West Des Moines Valley fought off one match point in the third set, then six more in the fourth. Finally, on the fifth winning try of the Game 5, Sarah Mixdorf converted from the right side to give second-ranked Centennial the match, 25-15, 25-15, 25-27, 32-34, 19-17, in a Class 4A semifinal at the state volleyball tournament Thursday afternoon at the U.S. Cellular Center,

'That was epic,' Centennial Coach Jessica Rinehart said of the marathon, which took 2 hours, 10 minutes to complete. 'Those last two sets, that was just crazy.'

The two-time defending champion, Centennial (34-3) faces No. 1 Cedar Falls (40-3) for the 5A championship at 10 a.m. Friday. The Tigers swept No. 5 Ankeny on Thursday.

This will be their first meeting this season.

'These are the kind of wins that feel the greatest,' Centennial's Olivia Sandquist said. 'This is the best feeling in the world.'

For a while, it looked like the Jaguars would sail. They won the first two sets easily, and held a 20-16 lead in the third.

Then, the third-ranked Tigers (42-4) awakened, and the Jaguars tightened up somewhat.

'I could see it on our faces, Rinehart said. 'The nerves got to us, but it worked out in the end.'

Valley scored eight in a row for a 24-20 lead, then Centennial answered with five straight, and had its first winning opportunity. But it couldn't cash in, and Hannah Lockin's kill ended the set and extended the match.

Game 4 was a memorable one, with Valley surviving six straight match points, then scoring the final three points. Lockin had a kill in the final surge, but the other two points came on Centennial mistakes.

Valley rallied from a 10-3 deficit in Game 5 and had its own match point at 14-13. But a kill by Sandquist and a block by freshman Devyn Robinson gave the advantage back to the Jaguars. After six sideouts, the left-handed Mixdorf converted from the right side to send Centennial to the finals.

'This team has grit,' Rinehart said. 'The biggest thing we get from our seniors in their will to win.'

Kenna Sauer led the Jaguars with 21 kills, and Sandquist added 10.

Lockin (24) and Madi Kubik (19) combined for 43 of Valley's 57 kills.

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