Even with a huge showdown against top-ranked Ankeny Centennial coming up on Thursday, the No. 3 Ankeny volleyball team couldn’t afford to look past its opponent on Tuesday.
The Hawkettes rolled to a 25-15, 25-15, 25-14 victory over visiting Southeast Polk to stay alive in the CIML Conference race. They improved to 3-1 in the league and 25-3 overall, while Southeast Polk’s records dropped to 0-5 and 7-14.
“It’s still one day at a time,” said Ankeny coach Liz Baethke, whose team extended its winning streak to seven matches. “You can’t underestimate or overlook anyone. I think the work we were able to get done this weekend, we had a pretty good game plan.”
Ankeny’s seniors were honored before the match. The Hawkettes then fell behind midway through the first set before dominating the rest of the way.
“It was really emotional in the beginning just because we are all so close,” said senior middle hitter Reagan Hanfelt. “There were a lot of tears shed. I think it just took us a little hot second to get back into it and know that we have a game still (to play).”
Kamryn Scheib pounded a kill from the right side to close out the opening set. Olivia Eike, another senior, later smashed a kill from the same spot to end the match.
“It was awesome,” said Hanfelt, who hit .562 on the night. “It was super fun–a great team effort.”
Baethke rotated several reserves into the lineup over the last two sets. One of them, Jade Moser, led the team with two blocks.
“I wanted all of our seniors to get an opportunity,” Baethke said.
Scheib finished with 15 kills and 10 digs, while Eike and Hanfelt each added 10 kills. Gracyn Adams dished out 23 assists, and Miya Steinkamp contributed 16.
Ilana Coleman racked up 11 digs for the Hawkettes. Baileigh Carlsen had three of the team’s nine aces, while Adams and Hanfelt each completed all 15 of their serves with a pair of aces.
Southeast Polk remained winless in the conference, but the Rams showed a week ago when they pushed No. 8 Waukee to five sets that they can be a dangerous squad. The Warriors had swept Ankeny the previous week.
“I don’t think playing at Southeast Polk is easy at all. And the Waukee kid (Malia Rogers) got injured that night as well,” Baethke said. “But this was our Senior Night, and the girls were pretty fired up.”
The Hawkettes will now host Centennial (14-3) on Thursday. The Jaguars lead the conference with a 3-0 mark.
Ankeny lost all three meetings between the two teams last season, including a pair of five-set matches.
“That’s been a game on our mind since state,” Hanfelt said. “We’re super excited. They’re a great team, so it’ll be a great game. I think we’re ready for it.”