After clinching their spot in the postseason following a win against Waterloo West, the Little Hawks look ahead to beat Ankeny and keep their playoff run alive. If City can come out of Ankeny with a win during their regional championship matchup they will punch their ticket to the state tournament on November 4-7th at Xtreme Arena here in Coralville. The 12th-ranked Little Hawks are led by a strong senior class, including Emmy McComas ‘25, who recently reached a milestone of 1,000 digs, something only a few people in City High history have done. McComas also leads the team in serve aces, with 29 on the season.
“The whole team is really excited, we have been working really hard in practice and have been preparing for Ankeny’s strong offense and defense, it’s going to be a good game,” McComas said.
Freshman Hazel Schluckbier has been one of the most useful assets on the entire team, and is top five in the state already recording 532 assists and 59 kills. Kaitlin Loria ‘27 has recorded 177 kills this season, and Hattie Galloway ‘27 recorded 178. Loria has taken big steps from her freshman season, recording 114 more kills so far this season than her entire freshman season. Galloway has also improved from last year by 50 kills. Their record this season is 16-12 getting a notable win over Cedar Falls who leads the MVC.
“I love playing setter. Even though it is a lot of pressure especially at a younger age because you’re touching the hall every play, I love how involved I get to be. I know that if I play bad it’s going to impact the entire team so that’s something that pushes me to be giving 100% effort. I also don’t want to be the person that’s holding the team back so I have that in mind if I feel like I’m playing bad and that always makes me put in more effort.” Schluckbier ‘28 said
Up to this point, Ankeny is the hardest opponent the Little Hawks will have to face. Currently sitting at number three in the state and holding an impressive record of 35-4. Ankeny leads the class 5A in serve efficiency (93.7%) and kill efficiency with a.251, The Hawks are led by senior Balieigh Carlsen who leads the team in digs with 495 on the season averaging 5 per game. The Hawks have been a very hot team lately with their last match lost being more than 32 days ago.
Going back to the Little Hawks they have been able to find some success winning three of their last five matches over Iowa City West, Dubuque Senior, and Waterloo West.
“The confidence level is high, it’s not going to be easy but we know we can beat any of these teams. Our whole team is working hard together so it isn’t our last game,” McKenzie Brown ‘25 said.
Game time is set for 7:00 pm and will take place at Ankeny High in Des Moines.
