(Van Meter, IA) – A trip back home, one team with a win and an advancement to the State Tournament while another goes home to end their season. Unfortunately for Riverside, their trip home was the last for the Bulldogs this season.
Things started off with back-and-fourth action from the beginning. Riverside continued to battle back and forth and even utilized the block early to help keep them up to the pace with Ankeny Christian. The Eagles were able to continue to dominate in the front row with the hitting from Carley Craighead and Macey Nehring as they were able to find the gaps in the back row. Ankeny Christian also continued the serving game of Craighead to help push them to a 25-19 first-set win.
The second set came back with a bang once again but this time just for Ankeny Christian as the Bulldogs got off to a slow start. After Madison Kelley and Sophia Taylor put Riverside back into the set, the Bulldogs came down to just one point 14-13, which forced an Ankeny Christian timeout. The Eagles got back and went on a run, eliminating the front-row play of Riverside by putting the ball down in the front row. Katie Quick and Anna Weathers both started to put some kills down on the board while also seeing success in the defensive game blocking overall. This was the turning point of the set and the entire match as Ankeny Christian won 25-18 in the second set.
When we got to the third set, Riverside couldn’t get things going early as they had to call a timeout and reconvene after a 4-1 run by the Eagles. After Ankeny Christian went on another run of 11-3, Riverside tried calling another timeout once again, but they were already out of the set. The Eagles’ Carley Craighead just continued serving successfully as she ranked up three aces in the set and hit from the weak side while going cross-court with the shoulder turn. Riverside did have some light in the set as Elyssa Amdor continued to add on some kills down the line with four alone later in the set. While there was some light, Ankeny Christian ended up winning the set and the whole match after winning 25-12.
Breaking down the stats for the Bulldogs, Riverside was led in kills by Elyssa Amdor with seven and also had a block on the night. Sophia Taylor earned five kills on the night and also an ace for the Bulldogs. Bentley Rone was striding right behind her with four kills and also served consistently throughout the match. Carly Henderson helped out defensively with 10 digs and also earned two assists on the night. Ely Henderson and Madison Kelley both earned a kill while they both earned a block in the match as well. Ayla Richardson earned 16 assists and earned a block in the match for Riverside.
In the match for the Eagles, Ankeny Christian was led in kills by Carley Craighead with 16 kills on the night and earned a total of four aces. Anna Weathers was right behind the junior with nine kills and had a block to add to the stat sheet. Macey Nehring was an impressive player on the night with seven kills and also had three serving aces. Katie Quick finished things off with three kills and had an ace and a block in the match.
Ankeny Christian moves on to the State Tournament as they will take on Newell-Fonda this Tuesday as Riverside finishes 2023 with a record of 27-11 overall.
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