Waukee Northwest battles back to 5A state volleyball championship match with 5-set semifinal win over Ankeny Centennial

CORALVILLE — It was enjoyable and nerve-wracking all at once for Waukee Northwest’s Piper Ladwig.

The 6-foot-3 sophomore felt the wide range of emotions during Wednesday’s Class 5A state volleyball semifinal against No. 2 Ankeny Centennial at Xtream Arena.

“In the moment, I was a little nervous,” said Ladwig, who transferred to Northwest from Urbandale before the school year. “I was also having so much fun out there. It was exciting.”

Part of the fun for Ladwig was a kill that brought her team to match point in the fifth set. On the next point, freshman Avery Cordes dropped a beautiful dump shot behind the Centennial defense to finish off a 25-21, 25-22, 16-25, 23-25, 18-16 victory.

The win puts the defending 5A champs (28-9) back in the championship match, where they will meet top-ranked Pleasant Valley for the title at 10 a.m. on Thursday. The Spartans advanced with a straight-set win over West Des Moines Dowling.

Coach Jodi Vogt’s Wolves, ranked No. 6 entering state, started strong in winning the first two sets, then saw their passing come apart at times in the next two sets before having enough to get the win.

Ironically, the two teams met early in the season and it was Centennial coming out on top in a five-set match. The teams then traded 2-0 wins during in-season tournaments. Vogt said she saw her team, without a senior on the roster, had what it took to get the win if they were to meet at state.

“I'm just so proud of these girls,” an emotional Vogt said following the match. “We knew this was going to be a battle coming in. They played to their highest potential and that is what you want at this time of the year.”

In the third set, a couple of calls did not go Northwest’s way and that seemed to bother the Wolves and shift the momentum.

“That's the game of volleyball,” Vogt said. “A few calls, a few out of bounds hits, a serve into the net can change the game. I thought we did a good job of playing hard when those things didn't go our way.”

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Photos: Ankeny Centennial vs. Waukee Northwest in Class 5A state volleyball semifinals

Centennial Coach Jessica Rinehart said her team executed much better in the third and fourth sets.

“We were down 0-2 and we fought back hard,” she said. “It could have gone either way. I thought blocking and defense played a big role in those games. When we were blocking and picking up balls. On the flip side, when they were blocking well, we were having a hard time getting around it.”

Ladwig said the intensity was so high for both teams in the decisive fifth set.

“I knew my team had my back. If I were to get blocked, they were there for me,” she said. “We were expected to lose, and when we had the chance to win it, we took it and it was so exciting.”

Logan Vogt led the winners with 17 kills. Ladwig added 10. Jaeden Pratt and Delaney Miller had 21 kills apiece for Centennial, which closes at 32-5.