Council Bluffs, IA – Following a hard-fought five-set defeat at the Reiver Classic on Friday night, the Indian Hills Volleyball team rebounded for two wins to close out the tournament on Saturday. The Warriors topped No. 8 Western Nebraska Community College in straight-sets and wrapped up the day with a 3-1 win over Jefferson College (MO).

The Warriors finished the Reiver Classic with an impressive 3-1 record, including a pair of victories over nationally ranked opponents. Indian Hills took home 11 of the 16 sets played in the season-opening tournament at the Reiver Arena.

"What a fun team to be around," noted head coach Lyndsey Michel. "From top to bottom of the roster, everyone willingly and excitingly took care of their role for the team. We will be lethal as the year goes on and we learn to take care of the ball. We gave that fifth set away (Friday) against Utah State Eastern, but we learned from that today and really went to work to earn our own points."

In Saturday's opening match vs. National Junior College Athletic Association (NJCAA) DI No. 8 Western Nebraska, the Warriors found themselves in a highly contested back-and-forth battle in the opening set. With a late push, Indian Hills took home the opening set 25-22. Western Nebraska opened up set two with a 6-5 lead, but the Warriors scored the next two points and never looked back, leading by as many as seven in the frame to win 25-22.

The Cougars built a 9-3 lead in set three, but the Warriors stormed back to take a 15-14 lead. Both sides traded rallies until a momentum-shifting block from Precious Daley (Des Moines, IA/Roosevelt) sparked the team to the set win and match sweep.

Daley finished the match with eight kills and 10 total blocks, including three solo stops. Brooke Amann (Woodstock, IL/South Dakota State) led the way with nine blocks while Hennesys Lalane (Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic/Colegio Luis Munox Rivera) paced the offense with 30 assists.

The Warriors lone non-ranked foe came in the team's final match of the weekend series against Jefferson. The Vikings surprised the Warriors with a first set victory, but Indian Hills responded with three consecutive set wins – 25-13, 25-20, 25-20 to close out the weekend.

The Warriors once again were led by Daley and Amann on the offensive front as the two combined for 22 kills. The two sophomores each posted 40 kills throughout the weekend while Daley boasted a stellar .438 hitting percentage.

Anja Vranic (Belgrade, Serbia/Sports Gymnasium) led the defensive effort for the Warriors with 31 digs on Saturday and 68 total for the weekend.

Though early in the season, Daley's 1.75 blocks per set through four matches ranks first in the nation while Haleigh Hadley's (Gilbert, IA/Iowa State) 1.38 blocks per set ranks fourth nationally. As a team, the Warriors rank first in the nation with 3.31 blocks per set.

Next up for Michel's squad will be the home opener vs. DMACC at 6:00 PM on Tuesday, August 24 at the Hellyer Center.

WARRIORS DOWN VIKINGS - @ihccvolleyball completed a 3-1 opening weekend with four-set victory over @JeffcoVB to complete play at the Reiver Classic in Council Bluffs. Next up: Tuesday's 6 p.m. home opener vs. @DMACCVB! #WeAreHills #WarriorNation pic.twitter.com/GqHI0irWcc

— IHCC Athletics (@IHCCAthletics) August 21, 2021