McCook, NE – The No. 9 Indian Hills Volleyball team picked up three more victories over the weekend at the McCook Invitational to move to 7-3 overall on the year. The Warriors took 11 of the 15 sets the played in over the weekend at the Graff Events Center.
Taking part in its second high-level invite of the early season, the Warriors opened up the weekend with a 3-0 sweep of Western Nebraska Community College, just the second defeat of the year for the Cougars, by set scores of 25-16, 25-20, and 25-21. Indian Hills suffered its lone loss of the weekend in the nightcap Friday to Hutchinson Community College, a 3-2 loss despite a valiant late-game rally. The Warriors fell behind 16-25 and 21-25 before taking the third and fourth sets, 25-13, and 25-18, but the Blue Dragons prevailed in the final frame 15-10.
The Warriors closed out the weekend in dominant fashion with two victories on Saturday. Taking on then-undefeated tournament host McCook Community College in the opener, the Warriors led 2-1 in the fourth set and staved off three set points to rally for the decisive fourth-set victory to take the match (25-12, 20-25, 25-7, 29-27). Indian Hills closed out the weekend with a clean sweep of Hill College (TX), 25-16, 25-19, and 25-23.
A number of individuals put together impressive all-around performances throughout the weekend to ascend up the national leaderboards in multiple statistical categories. Sophomore All-American Sara Van Gisteren (Leuth, Netherlands/Young Talent Academy ROC Nijmegen) tallied three matches with double-digit kills, including a double-double with 13 digs against McCook. Van Gisteren totaled 52 kills on the weekend and now leads the National Junior College Athletic Association (NJCAA) with 155 kills this year. Van Gisteren's 328 total attempts this season also sit atop the national leaderboard.
The Warriors also boast a pair of freshman inside the top-12 in the nation in total kills after a strong weekend Joanna Pawlik (Lublin, Poland/Nauczycieli Tajnego Nauczania) tallied 36 kills in the four matches and ranks seventh overall on the year with 103 kills. Piper Nelson (Atkins, IA/Benton) added 34 kills this weekend and ranks 12th nationally with 87 finishers on the year.
Sophomore Ana Carolina Westerich (Blumenau, Brazil/Colégio Energia) continued an unprecedented stretch of play from the setter position for the Warriors. Westerich totaled 133 assists on the weekend and leads the nation with 403 helpers this year, leading the second-place individual by more than 125 assists.
Sabrina Nogueira Da Silva (São Paulo, Brazil/Colégio Campos Salles) collected her 10th consecutive double-digit dig performance to open the season, tallying 75 in the four matches. Da Silva's 201 digs on the year lead all NJCAA participants to start the 2024 season.
Sophomore Daniela De Los Castillo (Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic/Colegio los Clavelines) played a key role in a number of tight situations for the Warriors. The middle blocker added multiple kills and blocks down the stretch to secure the win over McCook. Castillo tallied 30 kills to go along with 11 total blocks for the Warriors.
Through the first 10 matches of the year, the Warriors lead the nation in a number of team statistical categories. Indian Hills' ranks first in the NJCAA in kills (486), assists (474), and points (625.0), while ranking second overall in digs (609), and total attacks (1,190).
The Warriors are back in action September 3 in Hillsboro, MO for a non-league matchup against Jefferson College (MO) at 5:00 PM.
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