The Liberty Lightning and Pleasant Valley Spartans will collide in the Class 5A volleyball title match

CORALVILLE − Despite a hard-fought effort from Ankeny Centennial to keep its season alive, No. 1 Iowa City Liberty advanced to the state Class 5A volleyball final with a a four-set win (25-21, 25-19, 18-25, 25-22) on Wednesday.

This win sends the Lightning to their second state championship match since 2020.

“We know that it is very rare to make it there,” said Lightning coach Allie Kelly. “It takes some luck, talent and grit to do it. Ankeny Centennial played an excellent defensive game plan and were very scrappy. They made us earn every point that we had, so this was an excellent win for us.”

It comes after a dominant showing by senior Cassidy Hartman, who led all players with 22 kills. Fellow senior Shelby Kimm was on top of her game too with 11 kills.

Kimm said she and her teammates have gotten used to the fast-paced environment at the state tournament.

“I feel relieved that we got the first two matches out of the way,” Kimm said. “We have gotten more used to the environment and being around a really loud crowd. It is good to know that we have been able to play around a loud crowd and have success doing it.”

Looking ahead to Thursday’s state championship match against Pleasant Valley, sophomore Asta Hildebrand said that in order to win, the Lightning must stick to what has gotten them this far.

“We have to control our game,” Hildebrand said. “We have to get back to doing what we do best and then go from there.

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Pleasant Valley knocks out WDM Valley, set to defend state title

Pleasant Valley head coach Amber Hall admits she sometimes has to pinch herself to make sure she isn't dreaming.

With arguably the biggest, most athletic roster in the state, Pleasant Valley is poised to bring home a second straight state championship.

On Wednesday, the Spartans swept past a feisty West Des Moines Valley team, 25-15, 25-21, 25-20, rallying from an 11-point deficit in the second set.

Third-seed Pleasant Valley (29-6) will take on top-seed Iowa City Liberty (32-8) in the 5A title tilt at 10 a.m. Thursday.

The Tigers end their season with a 22-21 record.

In the end, Pleasant Valley simply had too much size and too many weapons for Valley to overcome.

"I'm so proud of the girls. They kept playing when they could have rolled over," Hall said. "I'm so proud that we were able to settle in and rally around each other and we came back and won that second set."

Valley coach Jeremy Mikesell said: "When you start talking about problems, you break down what are the most important problems to deal with. They had plans B, C and D already lined up for us. They're just smart and big, and when you've got that combination that opens up a lot of wide-open spots on the court. They've got such great vision. That makes it so tough to make adjustments. We were trying to play aggressively. We need to swing hard on our serves, get them out of system and force just one or two of their hitters to beat it. When they are able to get all those hitters engaged, that just makes it really tough on our defense to dig and block around that."

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Chloe Cline led Pleasant Valley with 12 kills, while 6-foot-5 Izzy Van De Wiele had 11. Isabelle Kremer and Emily Goodpaster each had eight kills, while Halle Vice, a Marquette University basketball commit, had six kills.

"We were down 12. I was not thinking we were going to come back, but we did a really good job of focusing and coming back," Van De Wiele said. "I still can't believe it. It's such a big transition from not making it past regionals to now playing for a state championship. It's almost unbelievable."

That balance and depth carried the Spartans back to the state championship match.

"They did a really good job of serving aggressively on us and moving their hitters around our blocks to get good shots," Hall said of Valley. "They are very well coached. (Jeremy Mikesell) is a great coach. I knew he would make adjustments to make it tough on us."

"I'm truly blessed," Hall said. "I wake up every day so grateful to have the opportunity to coach these girls and work with them."

This article originally appeared on Des Moines Register: Liberty, Pleasant Valley to play in Class 5A volleyball title match