The Valley volleyball team entered the week on a four-match losing streak.
A matchup against fifth-ranked Ankeny was not what the Tigers needed.
The visiting Hawkettes rolled to a 25-16, 25-17, 25-19 victory in the CIML Conference opener for both teams on Tuesday. They improved their overall record to 8-1, while No. 11 Valley dropped to 2-6.
“The key was to stay on our toes,” said senior outside hitter Kamryn Scheib. “Valley has always been an (unpredictable) team so being ready for anything is what helped us the most.”
Both Ankeny and Valley had competed in the Ankeny Centennial Invitational on Saturday. The Hawkettes won their pool and defeated No. 9 Waukee Northwest in the quarterfinals before losing to eventual champion Ankeny Christian Academy in the semifinals, while the Tigers went winless in pool play–where they also lost to ACA–and then fell to No. 7 Iowa City Liberty in the consolation bracket.
Valley was unable to turn things around on Tuesday, when Ankeny racked up 37 kills and completed 71-of-73 serves (97.3 percent) in the match. The Hawkettes hit .205 on the night.
“Starting off strong to every game always helps us in the long run,” Scheib said. “We knew not to underestimate them, and that really helped us push through all three sets.”
Scheib led the way with 13 kills while hitting .462, committing just one hitting error in 26 total attacks. She also had 12 digs and a pair of aces.
Olivia Eike, Marlee Ellison and Maya Ridgeway each contributed six kills. Reagan Hanfelt added five.
Miya Steinkamp dished out 14 assists and recorded 15 digs. Baileigh Carlsen chipped in 10 assists and 11 digs.
Carly Olson added four blocks to the team’s defensive effort. Eike had three more.
Ilana Coleman was a perfect 18-of-18 from behind the serving line and had two aces. Carlsen went 15-of-15 and also had an ace.
The Hawkettes will return to Valley on Saturday for the Marj White Classic.