There are no remaining unbeaten volleyball teams in the CIML Conference.
Third-ranked Ankeny traveled to Pleasant Hill on Tuesday for its league opener and handed unranked Southeast Polk a 25-13, 25-13, 25-21 loss. The Rams had gotten off to a 4-0 start, but those wins came against opponents with a combined record of 5-16.
“I’m really proud of how we’ve played up to this point,” said Ankeny coach Liz Baethke, whose team is now 7-2 on the season.
Ankeny was coming off an impressive runner-up finish in the Ankeny Centennial Early Bird Invitational. The Hawkettes picked up right where they left off on Saturday, racking up 37 kills while posting a .322 hitting percentage.
Nobody had a better night than Ankeny senior Marlee Ellison, who hit at a .500 clip while leading the team with 11 kills. She recorded her 500th career kill and also had eight digs in the win.
Hailey Wiederin chipped in eight kills, Elle Isaacson and Quinn Roush each had six, and Raquel Risk added four. Kellen Roush dished out 27 assists.
Libero Katelyn Mescher had a team-high 11 digs. Quinn Roush finished with eight blocks, while Wiederin added five.
Isaacson was perfect from behind the serving line, going 24-of-24 with three aces. Wiederin went 12-of-13 and had a pair of aces.
“We really focused on what we could do to control our side,” Baethke said. “We talked about tempo and continuing to play our style of game. Of course we’re concerned about our opponent’s tendencies, but right now I like that the emphasis is on our cohesiveness…just going out and competing every time we step on the court together.”
Ankeny will compete in the Shirley Ryan Invitational on Saturday at Mount Vernon. The Hawkettes reached the semifinals of last year’s tournament before falling to Dike-New Hartford.
