5A Recap, Reaction: Centennial Rolls into Championship

<!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong><em>Get 30% off your first billing cycle with code:&nbsp;howe30&nbsp;in the coupon code area</em></strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>CORALVILLE -</strong> Ankeny Centennial gets one more chance. A win in Thursday morning's Class 5A state championship match would wipe our the memories of losing all four meetings against CIML rival Waukee Northwest this season.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>"We did tell ourselves that when we lost to them the second time and the third time and the fourth time that, hey, maybe state is where we're going to get them," Centennial coach Jessica Rinehart said. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>The opportunity arrives after the Jaguars swept West Des Moines Valley in Wednesday morning's semifinals. They looked focused on the task at hand. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>"We just wanted it really bad," Centennial senior [player_tooltip player_id='261083' first='Maegan' last='Cheeseman'] said. "Our defense was great. Our offense was great. We just put it together and got it done." </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Cheeseman filled the stat sheet with 16 digs, 15 assists and five kills. Her setter running mate, Tate Schmidt, contributed eight kills, 12 digs, six blocks and 14 assists. [player_tooltip player_id='827838' first='Sophia' last='Heither'] had eight kills and six blocks. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Valley senior [player_tooltip player_id='839207' first='Thia' last='Raridon'] pounded out a match-high 11 kills, while classmate [player_tooltip player_id='261075' first='Kaelyn' last='Wieland'] came up with eight kills, 18 assists and 15 digs. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Centennial planned on celebrating Wednesday's win for a bit before turning its focus to winning a state championship. The Jaguars have a clear understanding of what stands in their way. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>"(Northwest is) a great team," Cheeseman said. "We're going to have to play really good ball if we want the outcome that we want. We're just excited to get another chance." </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Said Tatem: "It's been in the back of our minds. We wanted to make the championship. Now that we're here, we just have to go out and play ball." </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:embed {"url":"https://youtu.be/IYHUTCm5CsM","type":"video","providerNameSlug":"youtube","responsive":true,"className":"wp-embed-aspect-16-9 wp-has-aspect-ratio"} --> <figure class="wp-block-embed is-type-video is-provider-youtube wp-block-embed-youtube wp-embed-aspect-16-9 wp-has-aspect-ratio"><div class="wp-block-embed__wrapper"> https://youtu.be/IYHUTCm5CsM </div></figure> <!-- /wp:embed --> <!-- wp:embed {"url":"https://youtu.be/cppZ2wPvddE","type":"video","providerNameSlug":"youtube","responsive":true,"className":"wp-embed-aspect-16-9 wp-has-aspect-ratio"} --> <figure class="wp-block-embed is-type-video is-provider-youtube wp-block-embed-youtube wp-embed-aspect-16-9 wp-has-aspect-ratio"><div class="wp-block-embed__wrapper"> https://youtu.be/cppZ2wPvddE </div></figure> <!-- /wp:embed -->