Yuma, AZ – The Indian Hills Volleyball team picked up its first sweep of the year on Thursday night with a 3-0 win over Eastern Arizona College on the opening night of the Arizona Western Tournament. The win marks four consecutive victories for the Warriors.
Less than two full days removed from a thrilling five-set come-from-behind victory over DMACC at the Hellyer Center, the Warriors made the trek to Arizona for the three-day, five-match tournament. The quick turnaround coupled with the lengthy travel proved to be no issue as the Warriors won in straight sets, 25-18, 26-24, 25-23.
"We were able to get rid of the travel legs early on," stated head coach Lyndsey Michel. "It was nice to get one out of the way tonight and come out with a win. We talked about bringing more effort for the rest of the weekend and building off of tonight's win."
Indian Hills trailed 2-1 in the opening set, but an aggressive 8-0 run behind the service of Precious Daley (Des Moines, IA/Roosevelt) sparked the Warrior offense. The Warriors pulled away down the stretch to pick up the initial set win.
Set two proved to be a challenge for the Warriors until a late run showed the resiliency the team has displayed early on this season. Trailing 22-19, Indian Hills put together three consecutive points before outlasting the Gila Monsters to go up 2-0.
Set three belonged to the Warriors early on. Aside from a late push from Eastern Arizona, Indian Hills had little trouble finishing off its first opponent at the Arizona Western Tournament.
Jenna Vallee (Pornichet, France/Lycee Aristide Briand) carried the offense with a team-high nine kills, followed by eight from Brooke Amann (Woodstock, IL/South Dakota State). Jarolin de los Santos (Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic/Luis Munoz Rivera) added seven finishers for the Warriors.
Hennesys Lalane (Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic / Colegio Luis Munox Rivera) recorded 26 assists while Anja Vranic (Belgrade, Serbia/Sports Gymnasium) tallied 13 digs.
Indian Hills is back in action tomorrow with a pair of matches against the College of Southern Nevada at 1:00 PM and Scottsdale Community College at 3:00 PM. All matches will be streamed via Arizona Western College - AWC Tournament Homepage
WARRIOR SWEEP! @ihccvolleyball topped Eastern Arizona in straight sets to open the AWC Tournament in Yuma, AZ on Thursday!
— IHCC Athletics (@IHCCAthletics) August 26, 2021
Warriors are back in action for a pair of matches tomorrow afternoon.#WeAreHills #WarriorNation pic.twitter.com/NolZAK3OkY