Council Bluffs, IA – The Indian Hills Volleyball team put together an impressive showing on the opening day of the Reiver Classic Tournament, going toe-to-toe with a pair of nationally ranked programs. The Warriors split two matches on Friday to go 1-1 in the season opener.

The Warriors opened up its 2021 campaign with a strong effort against National Junior College Athletic Association (NJCAA) DI No. 11 Northeastern (CO), topping the Plainswomen 3-1 by set scores of 25-22, 22-25, 25-19, and 26-24. With a second straight match against a national power, the Warriors fell in a hard-fought five-set battle to No. 4 Utah State University Eastern 25-21, 21-25, 25-21, 17-25, 9-15.

Precious Daley (Des Moines, IA/Roosevelt) powered the Warriors offensively, combining for 23 kills on the day with a .429 hitting percentage. Brooke Amann (Woodstock, IL/South Dakota State) and Haleigh Hadley (Gilbert, IA/Iowa State) each added 19 total kills. Daley and Hadley also proved to be a force at the net after tallying 28 combined blocks on the day with three solo stops each.

Sophomore libero Anja Vranic (Belgrade, Serbia/Sports Gymnasium) led the Warriors defensively with 37 digs after playing all nine matches for the Warriors. Vranic also added three service aces while Amann led the way with five aces.

Head coach Lyndsey Michel cycled through the Warrior lineup in the team's first competition of the year as 12 different players saw action in Council Bluffs.

In the team's first match vs. Northeastern, Indian Hills rallied late with an 8-5 run down the stretch to take the opening frame. The Plainswomen countered with a late run of their own in set two to even the match before the Warriors found their offensive groove the rest of the way. The team's strongest set of the match came in set three as sophomore Hennesys Lalane (Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic/Colegio Luis Munox Rivera) served up an ace late before burying the final point to put Indian Hills in front 2-1. Both sides battled back-and-forth in set four before Indian Hills pulled away for its first victory of the season.

The Warriors carried that momentum over to their match against Utah State Eastern with a solid start. Behind a quick 5-1 spurt to open up, Indian Hills relied on the offensive power of Amann and the defensive presence of Jenna Vallee (Pornichet, France/Lycee Aristide Briand) and Jarolin de los Santos (Luis Munoz Rivera) to take the opening set. The Warriors built an early lead in set two before a late Eagle run evened the match. As a team, the Warriors hit .364 in set three to take a 2-1 lead, but the Eagles rebounded in set four to knot the match at two-all.

The Eagles showed why they were a national tournament team a season ago after the team held off the Warriors in the decisive fifth set and pulled away late for the victory.

The Warriors continue action at the Reiver Classic on Saturday with two more matches. Indian Hills tips off against No. 8 Western Nebraska at 11:00 AM followed by the closing match vs. Jefferson at 1:00 PM./