Centennial tops Bettendorf again

CEDAR RAPIDS - Ankeny Centennial has repeated as the Class 5A state volleyball champion. And with three more years of Ari Winters, this could become an extended run.

A freshman outside hitter, Winters posted 18 kills as the seventh-rated Jaguars defeated No. 2 Bettendorf in the big-school final for the second straight year, 19-25, 25-18, 25-20, 25-21, Friday morning at the U.S. Cellular Center.

'We just settled in after that first set,” said Centennial Coach Jessica Rinehart. 'If we just played solid volleyball on our end, things were going to take care of themselves.”

Last year, it was Jaali Winters leading the Jaguars to the championship. She's at Creighton University now, one of nine departed seniors.

Now it's her little sister's turn.

'She told me to play like it's any other (match),” said Winters, a 6-foot outside hitter. 'We knew we could do it.”

Winters was joined on the all-tournament team by teammates Savana Johnson and Kylee Macke, Bettendorf's Josie Herbst (the captain) and Megan Sharkey, Cedar Falls' Alicia Harrington and Dubuque Hempstead's Kasey Davis.

Herbst matched Winters with 18 kills.

Centennial (39-5) grabbed the momentum midway through the second set, scoring four straight for a 14-10 lead. They controlled the match the rest of the way.

Bettendorf (35-3) had six players that have committed to Division-I programs. The Bulldogs were state champions in 2012 and 2013, then settled for second the next two trips.

Now, it's Centennial that might be on the cusp of something big.

'That's the plan,” Rinehart said. 'We have a slew of younger kids coming, and our JV didn't lose a match this year.”

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