The Riverside Bulldogs volleyball team had their state tournament run end on Wednesday night with a 3-0 defeat to the top seeded Ankeny Christian Eagles in the 1A State Semifinals. The Eagles won 25-12, 25-21, 25-18 to move on to the state championship on Thursday. The Bulldogs end their season with their best season in program history.

Ankeny Christian set the tone early in the opening set going on a rapid seven point run to start and closed out the first set with 5 straight points. The Bulldogs bounced back in the second set making it 14 all midway through, but fell short with a barrage of kills by Katie Quick and Carley Craighead. Riverside seemed poised in the third, tying it multiple times throughout the match and getting their first lead since 1-0 back in the second. That still wouldn’t be enough to stop the Eagles as they used a five point run to create a big enough gap and eventually grab the match.

Ankeny Christian was led by an impressive night from senior Katie Quick who finished with 13 kills, 25 assists, and 3 service aces. Katelyn Weathers had 13 digs and Macey Nehring had 8 kills for the Eagles. Ankeny Christian improved to 39-5 and will play again in the Championship at 7:00 p.m. on Thursday.

Riverside was led by 7 kills and 4 digs by senior Sophia Taylor. Fellow senior Elly Henderson had 6 kills and 10 digs. Bentley Rone had 14 assists and Madison Kelley had 3 blocks. The Bulldogs end their impressive season with a record of 39-4.

Riverside senior Elly Henderson was proud of the way her team competed throughout the 2024 season and in the state tournament.

Henderson was also grateful to be a part of one of the best teams in Riverside volleyball history,

Bulldogs head coach Brooke Flathers was tearful when describing the joy and pride she had in her senior class.

Looking to next year’s group, Flathers has confidence in their ability and what they will bring to the program.

This was Riverside’s first year making it to the Class 1A state tournament semifinals.