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No. 1 Ankeny Christian handles adversity in state volleyball first-round win over Newell-Fonda
Eagles dropped first set, lost key player to injury but advanced with 4-set win
CORALVILLE — Defending Class 1A state champion Ankeny Christian showed it could handle adversity in its opening round match with unranked Newell-Fonda.
Not only did the Eagles have to overcome losing the first set, they had to adjust on the fly to overcome the loss of their top hitter, Carley Craighead, in the third set with cramping in her leg.
“We knew we had two backup players that if we needed to use them we would,” Ankeny Christian Coach Michele Quick said. “We had Piper Ancell come in and play well and we had Avah Herbel come in to serve. We put those two in and they performed well.”
It also helped to have veterans Macey Nehring, Anna Weathers and setter Katie Quick as well. The hitters combined for 38 kills and Quick finished with 44 assists as the Eagles (37-3) won 20-25, 25-11, 25-21, 25-14 to earn a spot in Wednesday night’s 6 p.m. semifinal.
Newell-Fonda finishes at 21-9.
Weathers said there was never any panic among the players after losing the first set or when Craighead had to leave the floor.
“We just kind of stuck with our gameplan,” she said. “In the first game, we really didn't execute. In the second game we really went back to what we knew how to do. We really trusted each other and came back with the confidence that we knew we could do it.”
Craighead was having a strong match before her exit. She had 12 kills and 14 digs, but both her coach and teammates saw she was having some issues with her leg in the third set.
“I saw that something happened when she jumped,” Coach Quick said. “She was looking down at her leg and I could see the concern from Katie. She was looking at her and in the next rotation it got worse so we had to get her out of there.”
Craighead spent the rest of the match flexing her leg behind the bench and was not able to return. Coach Quick is hopeful her junior outside hitter will be available for the semifinal.
Katie Quick also had 10 kills to go along with her solid setting performance.
Kinzee Hinders led Newell-Fonda with 15 kills.
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