Thoughts from Dowling Catholic at Ames

On Tuesday in Ames, No. 7 Dowling Catholic topped the Little Cyclones 3-0 (25-8, 25-18, 25-14). The match wasn’t quite as close as when the two met on the same court in late August, as Dowling Catholic handled Ames fairly easily this time around. Here is what stood out:   Look out below Dowling Catholic senior Jacey Koethe showed why she is the team’s leader in kills on Tuesday when she notched eight kills on only ten attempts for an absurd .800 hitting percentage. The Maroons cycled through plenty of players — seven players tallied multiple kills — but Koethe may have been the most impressive. The 6-foot middle hitter caught the ball high and ferociously hit the ball down for her kills, with many of them hardly being touched. It was an impressive display of force.   Youthful Dowling Koethe was the only senior to play significant minutes for Dowling, which has been a trend for Dowling all year. On Tuesday, freshman Calliope Coppola especially highlighted the youth movement. The 5-foot-8 athletic outside hitter notched back-to-back aces (and had four total), but did much of her damage at the net, killing some tough out-of-system balls. This season, she is fourth on Dowling with 114 kills. Not bad for a 9th grader. Right behind her is Piper Kirchhoff with 103 kills. Also a freshman, Kirchhoff is 5-foot-9 and can really leap.   Sophomore libero Anna Flynn did not wear the libero jersey the entire evening, but played well when she did. She also notched two aces, bringing her season total to 51, the fourth-most in 5A. Side note: the top server in 5A — at least in terms of aces per set — is Ames’s Savannah Perry. A Colorado commit, Perry injured her wrist in September, sidelining her for the remainder of the season.   Savvy setter Dowling’s primary setter, Allena Shimo, is a good setter as evidenced by her 457 assists on the season, but on Tuesday she flexed some attacking ability, as well. The 5-foot-9 junior (you weren’t expecting her to be a senior, were you?) notched two dumps for both of her kills and both were quick, sneaky and untouched by Ames. She also showed off her ability to mix up her serves, totaling three aces.   Junior killers Two of Dowling’s top hitters are juniors Anna Godfredsen and Mira Baccile, who combined for 11 kills in the three-setter. Godfredsen, second on the team in kills, is a relentless 5-foot-10 attacker. Baccile, at 5-foot-9 had a powerful swing and, on a couple of occasions, turned misplaced passes into kills. She also leads the Maroons in hitting percentage.   What will Ames look like next year? After reaching a top-15 ranking in the state, the Little Cyclones season have not continued as planned, as they have now lost 10 matches in a row to fall to 11-20 on the season. They graduate some strong players, including Perry, and also 6-foot-1 middle hitter Katelyn Courtney, and do-it-all, hard-hitting Hannah Buckels plus both of their setters in Kenna Redies and Breanna Schumer. Next year, however, they’ll certainly have some size with three returning six-footers in current junior Christabel Forney, a lefty who is third on the team with 96 kills this season, and sophomores Ashley Iiams and Madelyn Timmermans.