CORALVILLE – Ankeny Christian rocked Riverside early in the first set of their Iowa Class 1A state semifinal volleyball match Wednesday night at Xtream Arena.
The Eagles were Quick – as in Drake recruit Katie Quick – in rolling to an 8-1 lead, and even when the Lady Dawgs finally got acquainted with their offense, they couldn’t climb out of what was a an insurmountable deficit.
In the end, Riverside’s historic state tournament run came to an end, with a 25-12, 25-21, 25-18 loss to the two-time defending champion Ankeny Christian, in a match where the second and third sets were closer than the final scores.
Ankeny Christian also ended Riverside’s season in the 2023 Class 1A regional final, also in a three-set sweep, and the Eagles would go on to win their second straight state championship. The Eagles, of the Bluegrass Conference, play (and have had success) in several tournaments featuring Class 4A and 5A teams, several which reached the state tournament.
The Lady Dawgs adjusted to Quick’s quickness and the rest of the Eagles’ attack, and the score was tied seven times in the second set, and there were two lead changes and four ties in the third. A 7-1 Eagles run helped settle Set 2. The Lady Dawgs led as late as 15-14 midway through Set 3, before a 6-0 Eagles run proved to be the beginning of the end.
In the end, Quick’s hard-hitting 13 kills and a sterling .444 kill efficiency rate – she had just one miscue the entire night in her 27 attempts – and a 41-30 kill edge were enough to push past the Lady Dawgs.
Several hours after the meet, Riverside coach Brooke Flathers reflected on the historic season, one that saw them push to within a game of the state championship.
“These girls have so much to be proud of,” said Flathers. “They had a record breaking and history making season. The have made their community, this program, their families, and each other so proud! What a great group of competitors!”
Riverside, state qualifiers for the second time in three years, ended the season with an outstanding 39-4 record, the school’s best ever, and were Western Iowa Conference regular-season and tournament champions.
Short of any all-star games they’ll be invited to, three seniors played their final game in Wednesday night’s semifinal for Riverside: Elly Henderson, Ayla Richardson and Sophia Taylor.
Taylor led the Lady Dawg offense against the Eagles with seven kills and our digs, while Henderson had six kills. The team finished with 49 digs,w ith Henerson, Richardson and Sophia Fenner each recording 10. Bentley Rone had 14 assists.
A bunch of underclassmen who played key roles in this year’s team return, including freshman Ashley Kelley; sophomores Sophia Fenner, Lilli Reed, Kayden Schnack and Sydney Somers; and juniors Madison Kelley and Bentley Rone.