Anyone who counted out Kentwood at the start of the volleyball season in September may be surprised to see it at the top of the division standings.

Sure, longtime coach Bil Caillier left the Kentwood volleyball program and Erin Campbell, an anchor for the team’s offensive attack graduated.

While much changed in the offseason for the Conquerors away from the court, some things stayed the same, and this fall they have put together an undefeated record through with two games left in South Puget Sound League North play.

Cindy Seims, mother of senior setter Kacie Seims, took over coaching duties along with Cathy Stansell.

“It was an easy transition,” said senior libero Tess Manthou. “We had a lot of leadership on the team… so that kept the team together.”

And having Cindy Seims around, someone her daughter’s senior classmates have known for years through club ball, wasn’t anything new at all, Manthou said.

It is a different dynamic, Kacie Seims said, “she’s my mom.”

“I feel even more connected to the team because I’m blood related to the coach,” she said.

Senior outside hitter Mikaela Ballou, knew there were some outside the Kentwood program who thought that with the departure of Caillier — who led the Conks to state seven years straight — and of Campbell, Kentwood may not be as good as it has in the past.

Seems like things have worked out, though.

“Our team, we don’t just depend on one hitter,” Ballou said. “We’re confident no matter who we set the ball to, we’re going to get a kill.”

Kacie Seims has distributed her passes to not just Ballou, but sophomores Lauren Hackett and Sarah Toeaina, as well as Mele Halahuni.

Manthou said Kentwood has been challenged by Bellarmine Prep and Auburn Riverside, which took the Conks to five games on Oct. 12, but the team has been able to cope thus far.

The biggest thing the Conks have had to work through, Manthou noted, is “probably just staying focused, staying engaged because the season is long.”

“Our team has done better as far as gut checks,” Kacie Seims said. “That really got us through that Riverside game.”

And there’s something to be said for a little bit of chemistry.

“Honestly, we’re a family,” Kacie Seims said.

Manthou added that getting along off the court has been a key to Kentwood’s success on it.

“We depend on each other,” she said. “I look at the people playing next to know and I know they’re working as hard as I am.”

Cindy Seims explained that her seniors have set the tone for the team and led by example.

It was clear from the first league match against Tahoma in September Kentwood had learned a lot from the 2010 campaign in which it finished 7-1 in league and slid into the state tournament after struggling to effectively execute offensively on a consistent basis.

Ballou has been on the money this season. For example, in the match against Riverside, she led the Conks with 20 kills.

That sharp mental focus, the ability to execute, that didn’t just happen, Manthou said.

“It came from individuals who took it upon themselves to improve,” she said.

How far the Conks will go this season isn’t clear to Kacie Seims, but, there’s nowhere to go but up from last year’s eighth place finish as the 4A state tournament.

“We want to fulfill our full potential,” she said. “It’s hard to say, we want to win state, we want to take fourth place, because there are so many factors that go into it.”

In the end, it’s about making the most of the opportunities, Ballou said.

“As long as we leave it out on the court then we can leave with no regrets,” she said.