CEDAR RAPIDS - The Iowa Central volleyball team went on the road and came away with a big four-set victory over No. 5 Kirkwood in a matchup of ranked ICCAC programs.

Scores were 25-18, 18-25, 25-18 and 25-22.

"Our girls really came out to play starting with the first point," ICCC head coach Sara Horn said. "We have some great sophomore leadership and they had the team ready to play. 

"Kirkwood is a very good team, so for us to come out confident with great energy was really fun to see."

Returning All-American Kealey Anderson had 17 kills and 11 digs with Haley Alharithy adding 11 kills and five digs with two solo blocks for the Tritons. Katilyn Steffes also had 11 kills and eight digs, and Angel Baylark added seven kills with a pair of solo blocks.

Alesha Johnson registered 35 assists and 12 digs, Baylyn Johnson had 19 digs and Karli Eckert 11 digs. 

"We had a lot of girls step up and it was a solid team effort," Horn said. "Different girls lead in every category and everyone really stepped up and did their job. It's hard to pick out one or two standout players because it was a solid team effort.

"Keeping this balance is going to make us a very hard team to beat."

Iowa Central, ranked 10th in the preseason poll, has now posted a record of 18-1 over its last 19 conference matches. 

The Tritons make their home debut on Tuesday against Ellsworth beginning at 7 p.m. 

-By Dana Becker