CORALVILLE, Iowa – Waukee Northwest capped one of the most dominating seasons in the 50-plus years of Iowa high school volleyball with the program’s second state championship.
Led by sisters Avery and Logan Vogt, the top-seeded Wolves swept No. 2 Ankeny Centennial 25-10, 25-21, 25-18 at Xtream Arena to win its second Class 5A title in three years.
Avery Vogt, the only senior in the starting lineup, set up the team’s vast array of hitters with 38 assists and was named captain of the all-tournament team. Logan Vogt, a junior, also made the all-tournament team as did the Wolves’ Leah Janulewicz.
Northwest finished 38-1 with 37 sweeps and lost only four sets all season, two of them in a 3-2 win over Centennial. Centennial, a four-time state champion, closed at 34-6 – all but one of those losses coming to Northwest. The Wolves’ only loss was a 2-0 setback to crosstown rival Waukee.
Logan Vogt led the attack with 14 kills and Piper Ladwig, also a junior, added 12. Both have committed to Iowa State. Janulewicz chipped in with eight kills and 11 digs, while Cassidy Danburg had four kills, three solo blocks and assists on six other blocks. The Wolves finished with 15 blocks in all plus 61 digs to continually thwart the Centennial attack.
Mady Ott led Centennial with eight kills, Ellie Pollock had six and all-tournament selection Tatem Schmidt added five. Libero Mya Lei-Butters, who also made the all-tournament team, led the Jaguars with 15 digs.
Pleasant Valley’s Isabelle Kremer and West Des Moines Valley’s Kaelyn Wieland rounded out the all-tournament team.
Northwest made it look easy in the first set, closing with a 10-1 run that included two kills and a block by Logan Vogt. Centennial picked up its play in the second set and built an 11-7 lead with better blocking and more accurate hitting. But Northwest regrouped, scored 11 of the next 12 points and held on against a late surge by the Jaguars.
Centennial made another charge in the final set to get within four points before the Wolves finished impressively with a block and three kills, Fittingly, Avery Vogt, who will play at Drake next season, set up her sister for a sizzling cross-court kill to end it and start the celebration.
Avery Vogt finished with tournament with 107 assists while adding 13 kills and 23 digs. Logan Vogt racked up 41 kills in the three tournament matches, most set up by her sister. They are the daughters of Northwest coach Jodi Vogt, who has guided the Wolves to four state tournament berths in the school’s five years of existence. They lost to Pleasant Valley in last year’s championship match and with Avery Vogt the only starter graduating, they’ll be formidable again next season.
