The Ankeny Christian Academy volleyball team overcame a slow start to defeat Newell-Fonda in four sets in the Class 1A quarterfinals on Tuesday night at Xtream Arena in Coralville.
The top-seeded Eagles posted a 20-25, 25-11, 25-21, 25-14 victory to extend their winning streak to 27 matches. The loss ended an 11-match winning streak for Newell-Fonda (21-9), which was making its first state tournament appearance.
ACA (37-3), the defending champion, will play No. 4 BCLUW (35-10) in the semifinals on Wednesday at 6 p.m. BCLUW outlasted No. 5 Saint Ansgar in five sets.
Macey Nehring and Anna Weathers each had 19 kills and 18 digs for the Eagles, who played most of the final two sets without leading hitter Carley Craighead. Craighead recorded 12 kills before leaving the match in the third set.
She did not return.
“Carley had a bad cramp in her calf,” said ACA coach Michele Quick.
The Eagles outhit Newell-Fonda by a .203 to .086 margin. Setter Katie Quick racked up 10 kills, 44 assists, 21 digs and two blocks in the win.
Weathers had three aces for ACA. Chloe Roe added a pair of blocks.
Kinzee Hinders had 15 kills and four blocks to lead Newell-Fonda. Isabel Bartek finished with a match-high 29 digs.
Hinders pounded a kill to close out the opening set. It marked the first time in more than a month that the Eagles dropped a set.
After ACA dominated the second set, the Eagles built a 24-16 lead in Set 3. Newell-Fonda then fought off five set points before Nehring blasted a kill from the left side to close it out.
Quick had three aces to open Set 4, giving her team an early lead. She later had a kill to close out the match.
No. 2 Boyden-Hull (22-11) will face No. 3 Holy Trinity Catholic (32-10) in the other Class 1A semifinal. The championship match is slated for Thursday at 7 p.m.
