IGHSAU State Tournament Quarterfinals Recap: Ankeny vs. DCG

<!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>We are back with the Quarterfinals of the state tournament and things are starting to heat up. Teams are fired up, knowing that a state title is right on the horizon. Not only are the athletes alive and fired up, but the fans are definitely matching the energy. We are going to see the best of the best competing over the next two days and I'll be here to cover it all. In this article I'll be covering the semifinals between #3 Ankeny vs. #2 Dallas Center-Grimes.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>To stay up to date on the State Tournament make sure to follow me on Instagram @Prepdigmarissa.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Both of these teams came into this match fired up and definitely put on a show. The Hawks defense was locked in from the very start and definitely caught the Mustang offense off guard pretty quickly. Both teams excelled defensively and were swinging away, but still played smart. Ankeny took an early lead but it wasn't long before DCG settled in and started to make their comeback. The Mustangs kicked it into high gear and take set 1 (25-16)</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>DCG came into set two and was finding ways to do all the right things, especially when it came to their aggression at the net. Their blocking in the second set was making it incredibly difficult for Ankeny's offense to find any sort of rhythm. The Hawks managed to stay ahead early in the set, but the Mustangs found a way to make a run after run and although Ankeny battled and kept the score close, they just couldn't find a way to pull ahead and DCG took set 2 (25-21)</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>With them bring one set loss away from their season ending, the Hawks came into set 3 with fire and took a comfortable lead early in the set. The Mustangs kept battling but by the middle of the set the Hawks were definitely feeling themselves and were doing a great job of finding the court, or at the very least getting DCG's offense all out of sorts. The Mustangs were starting to get visibly flustered and jittery and Ankeny used that to their advantage and took set 3 (25-16)</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Both teams came into set 4 with laser focus and focused on playing clean volleyball. DCG comes out strong and manages to get a decent lead going in the beginning of the set. The Hawks defense starts to get scrappy again and they slowly start crawling their way back. Everything from Ankeny is aggressive from the service line to the net and they start to get on a few runs of their own and start to pull away in the middle of the set. DCG start to go point for point with Ankeny, but unfortunately it wasn't enough and the Hawks force a 5th set (25-21).</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Both these teams come out gritting in the second set, and a long first rally is ended by a hitting error from the Mustangs by Leifker. However, she makes up for it with a strong kill of her own on the next point. Ankeny is looking to outsmart the DCG defense, but the Mustangs are staying resilient at the net and really testing the Hawks defense. The court awareness in this match was absolutely insane, with so many close calls. Again, everything from both of these teams was absolutely relentless in every aspect and they were going point for point. Both setters were doing a fantastic job of moving the ball around and all the hitters were finding ways to be active. DCG tightened up and left no room for error and managed to take the first set from the Hawks (15-11).</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:heading {"level":4} --> <h4 class="wp-block-heading">What lead Dallas Center-Grimes to get it done in 5?</h4> <!-- /wp:heading --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>The Mustangs didn't let previous mistakes effect how the next point(s) went. They stayed the course and trusted their training and played as a team when it mattered most. The Mustangs also seemed to have way more hitters that were able to get the job done where as the hawks had one, maybe two. It was an incredible match with championship level gameplay and when it came down to it, DCG just outplayed the Hawks.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:heading {"level":4} --> <h4 class="wp-block-heading">Stat leaders:</h4> <!-- /wp:heading --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Kills: <a href="https://prepdig.com/player/hailey-wiederin-2/" data-type="players" data-id="730419">[player_tooltip player_id='730419' first='Hailey' last='Wiederin']</a> (Ankeny)- 20 kills, <a href="https://prepdig.com/player/madison-messerly/" data-type="players" data-id="766068">[player_tooltip player_id='766068' first='Madison' last='Messerly']</a> (DCG)- 15 kills, <a href="https://prepdig.com/player/avery-edgington/" data-type="players" data-id="443085">[player_tooltip player_id='443085' first='Avery' last='Edgington']</a> (DCG)- 14 kills</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Assists: <a href="https://prepdig.com/player/kellen-roush/" data-type="players" data-id="1046923">[player_tooltip player_id='1046923' first='Kellen' last='Roush']</a> (Ankeny)- 48 assists, <a href="https://prepdig.com/player/gwen-farley-3/" data-type="players" data-id="493973">[player_tooltip player_id='493973' first='Gwen' last='Farley']</a> (DCG)- 49 assists</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Digs: <a href="https://prepdig.com/player/katelyn-mescher/" data-type="players" data-id="758787">[player_tooltip player_id='758787' first='Katelyn' last='Mescher']</a> (Ankeny)-19 digs, [player_tooltip player_id='493973' first='Gwen' last='Farley'] (DCG)- 18 digs, <a href="https://prepdig.com/player/ava-smid/" data-type="players" data-id="730390">[player_tooltip player_id='730390' first='Ava' last='Smid']</a> (DCG) &amp; [player_tooltip player_id='1046923' first='Kellen' last='Roush'] (Ankeny)- 17 digs</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:heading {"level":4} --> <h4 class="wp-block-heading">Marissa's players of the game:</h4> <!-- /wp:heading --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Ankeny: <a href="https://prepdig.com/player/raquel-risk/" data-type="players" data-id="490016">[player_tooltip player_id='490016' first='Raquel' last='Risk']</a>- Risk was a powerful force at the net and was making sure she was contributing in every way she could. Although she wasn't able to rack up as many kills as she normally does, she was still aggressive and managed to keep DCG out of system consistently. She was also able to hold it down at the net and put up a fantastic block all throughout the match. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p> <a href="https://prepdig.com/player/kellen-roush/" data-type="players" data-id="1046923">[player_tooltip player_id='1046923' first='Kellen' last='Roush']</a>- I was so incredibly impressed with Roush not just today, not just this week, but all season long. She is such a key piece to the Hawk's program and just an all around amazing athlete. Her performance today was nothing short of stellar. She distributed the ball with ease and always set her hitters up for success. And defensively she not only was a dig leader, but she managed to throw up a strong block as well.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>DCG: <a href="https://prepdig.com/player/anna-jackson/" data-type="players" data-id="729146">[player_tooltip player_id='729146' first='Anna' last='Jackson']</a>- [player_tooltip player_id='729146' first='Anna' last='Jackson'] was an absolute monster in the back row and continued to to find a way to keep her team alive point after point. Her athleticism and agility gave her a major advantage against a very heavy Ankeny offense. The stats speak for themselves with the Hawks ended the match with an major lack of kills, which is very uncommon for that group and it's because Jackson (along with the rest of the Mustang defense) refused to let a ball drop.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><a href="https://prepdig.com/player/gwen-farley-3/" data-type="players" data-id="493973">[player_tooltip player_id='493973' first='Gwen' last='Farley']</a>- Similar to Roush, Farley is just a star-studded beast and her confidence as a setter is unmatched. She has been a fantastic leader for the Mustangs and knows how to step up when her team needs her most. She keeps her opponents guessing and knows how to keep her hitters active.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph -->