Ottumwa -- Indian Hills sophomore Mariana Rodrigues was voted the top player in Region XI this year and her coach, Lyndsey Michel, was named the 2019 ICCAC Division I Coach of the Year as the league announced the all-region volleyball honors on Thursday. IHCC's Cassia Lemos and Amanda Toyota joined Rodrigues on the all-region team.
Rodrigues is the region's Player of the Year. An All-American after a standout freshman campaign in 2018, Rodrigues this year leads the region in kills with 481, the seventh-highest total in the NJCAA. She averages 4.04 kills per set, had double-digit kills in 31 of the Warriors' 36 matches, had a match-high of 22 and is also 4th in digs with 371.
Lemos, the freshman setter for the Warriors, leads the nation in assists with 1581, over 200 more than the next closest setter and already the highest total in the NJCAA since 2016. She is averaging 13.29 assists per set and has had 50 or more assists in a match a dozen times with a season-best of 68 against Northeast (Neb.).
Toyota, a sophomore, is the IHCC libero and is second in the conference in both digs with 417 and in digs per set with 4.17. She had a season-high 25 digs in a match against Jefferson (Mo.).
Michel, in her 8th season as head coach of the Warriors, has directed them to a 33-3 record going into the district tourney in Mattoon, Ill., this weekend. She has a career record at IHCC of 230-86 and the Warriors have won at least 30 matches five times since she took over in 2012. Indian Hills began the season winning 16 matches in a row and will carry a 15-match win streak into play on Friday.