The fourth-ranked Ankeny volleyball team tuned up for Thursday’s showdown at No. 3 Ankeny Centennial with a four-set victory at Southeast Polk on Tuesday.
The Hawkettes posted a 25-14, 25-20, 23-25, 25-17 win to improve to 3-1 in the CIML Conference and 20-6 overall. The Rams’ records dropped to 0-5 and 5-11.
Southeast Polk had been swept in all four of its previous CIML matches. The Rams managed to win a close Set 3 to avoid another sweep.
Senior libero Hailey Flanders picked up her 500th career dig in the win. She finished with nine digs and also had five of her team’s 12 aces.
Hailey Wiederin smashed 16 kills and hit .364 on the night for Ankeny, which hit .208 as a team. She had just four hitting errors in 33 total attacks.
Marlee Ellison contributed 11 kills and three aces. Elle Isaacson had 10 kills, Raquel Risk chipped in seven, and Quinn Roush added five.
Miya Steinkamp dished out 27 assists and also completed all 19 of her serves. Macie Kohl added 16 assists.
Risk, Roush and Maliya Cobb each racked up five blocks. Madi Anselme had a team-high 14 digs.
The Hawkettes moved into a tie for second place in the conference along with Centennial, No. 2 Waukee and No. 6 Dowling Catholic. The Warriors suffered their first league loss on Tuesday, when they were swept at home by No. 1 Waukee Northwest.
The Wolves are now 6-0 in the conference with only two matches remaining. They will travel to Ankeny on Oct. 7 before hosting Dowling on Oct. 14.