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Parkway's Cami Langenkamp (12) tries to hit it past Marion Local's Quinn Moeller (22) and Lizzy Stucke (28).
ROCKFORD - It is hard to be perfect, but through eight games Parkway's volleyball team has defined the word, as the Panthers made quick work of Marion Local in a 25-14, 25-15, 25-20 sweep in Midwest Athletic Conference action.
The win not only keeps Parkway unbeaten at 8-0, but the sweep continues a now 21-0 combined match score in the young season.
"I can't really write up a much better start," said Parkway coach Jordan Henkle. "We've played some really competitive teams and our schedule has been really tough, but from match one to eight, we have not played a team that we haven't felt like we've been in control the whole time."
It was all Parkway from the get-go as the opening stage saw the team take a 7-2 lead. An ace from KJae Stover eventually grew the lead to 13-4 as the Flyers had no answer for the Panthers.
Parkway's KJae Stover (9) sets the ball against Marion Local.
Marion (5-3) did eventually find some success as Faith Ronnebaum took the serve with her team behind 17-9. The junior rattled off two aces and used kills from Mya Eckstein to make it a 17-13 deficit, but that was the closest it got as Parkway took the 1-0 lead on a kill from Cami Langenkamp.
"Our girls came in really focused," said Henkle. "I thought we controlled most of the match and were dictating a lot of points, which is good."
The second set saw a different intensity from Marion early, as a kill from Ronnebaum and an ace from Quinn Moeller set the score at 9-all. Megan Hughes earned Parkway the lead on the next point, and the serve sat with Hadley Stover.
The sophomore libero did everything and more for the Panthers in her time with the ball. Two kills from Izzy Knapke and an ace highlighted a six-point run to give Parkway a 15-9 lead. That was enough for Parkway to win the set, as the Flyers never had a multi-point run and the Panthers cruised to a 2-0 lead.
"If we play our game, I think we have a shot against anybody," said Marion Local coach Marcia Moeller. "I think we came here tonight and did not leave 100 % on the floor by any means. As a coach, that's what gets you."
With a big lead in the match, Parkway kept the momentum going early in the final set and ran out to a 7-4 lead. Knapke and Savada Triplett had two kills in the run, with the setting of Madelyn Stover playing a big role.
Marion Local's Kalyn Thobe saves the ball against Parkway.
Marion did not back down despite trailing. Moeller had a pair of kills and a termination to get the visitors even at 10-all, but Hughes' kill gave the Panthers the lead right back. Hughes finished with six kills in the match.
After some points flew both ways, an ace from Hadley Stover made it a 16-13 Parkway lead. Solid defense kept Parkway in front during some of the longer rallies in the match as the score grew to 22-19.
The Panthers used a pair of Marion hitting errors to extend the lead to 24-20, and a kill from Triplett forced the Flyers into a block attempt that went wide to seal the deal.
Naomi Knapke led the team with 13 kills, while Madelyn Stover's 20 assists were a team-high. Hadley Stover added 13 digs for the Panthers. Parkway will look to continue their unbeaten run on Sept. 14 in a road test against Crestview.
"Everyone had their set to shine tonight. We really require all six of our girls to be good hitters, we don't have anyone that's 6-1 that's going to throw the ball down, but all of our girls can put the ball away," said Henkle.
Marion will look to get back on track on Monday as the Flyers take a trip to Anna.
