Sterling, CO – The No. 10 nationally ranked Indian Hills Volleyball squad is set for one of its biggest tests of the season as the Warriors head to the Sheila Worley Invitational this weekend in Sterling, CO.

DETAILS: 2024 Sheila Worley Invitational

Sterling, CO  |  Bank of Colorado Event Center

Friday, September 13  -  Saturday, September 14

No. 10 Indian Hills heads to the Bank of Colorado Event Center for the Sheila Worley Invitational this weekend riding a five-match win streak and sit at 10-3 overall.

ON THE BLOCK

• The Warriors have won 15 of its last 17 sets after dropping Carl Sandburg College (IL) 3-1 at the Hellyer Center on Wednesday night.
• Indian Hills produced its top offensive performance of the year on Wednesday, producing a .500 hitting percentage with 59 kills to lead the Warriors over the Chargers.
• With the win over the Chargers, head coach Lyndsey Michel notched her 350th career win at the helm of the Warrior program.
• The Warriors racked up a number of weekly accolades this week as Sara Van Gisteren was named the NJCAA National Athlete of the Week while Van Gisteren and Sabrina Nogueira Da Silva swept the weekly ICCAC Offensive and Defensive Athlete of the Week honors.
• Da Silva is just three digs shy of surprassing the 900-career dig milestone heading into the weekend.
• A number of individuals enter the weekend near the top of the national statistical leaderboards:
  • Ana Carolina Westerich leads the nation in assists (520), the only individual in the nation with more than 500 assists on the year.
  • Sara Van Gisteren ranks third overall in kills (203)
  • Sabrina Nogueira Da Silva ranks third in the nation in total digs (203)
  • Daniela De Los Santos Castillo ranks 19th in the nation in total blocks (47)
• As a team, the Warriors rank fifth in the nation in assists (607), seventh in kills (623), and ninth in total points (809.0).

WARRIORS AT THE SHEILA WORLEY INVITE

Indian Hills returns to the Sheila World Invitational, hosted by Northeastern Junior College (CO) for the third consecutive season.

• Over the past two seasons, the Warriors have gone 7-1 at the annual invite, including five wins over nationally ranked opponents.
• Last season, the Warriors went 3-1 with wins over No. 10 New Mexico Military, (RV) Western Nebraska, and Snow.
• Sara Van Gisteren put together a dominant effort for the Warriors as a freshman last year, totaling 47 kills throughout the four matches.
• The 2022 season saw the Warriors go 4-0, including wins over No. 5 Western Nebraska, No. 17 Hutchinson, and No. 19 Northeastern.
• The Sheila Worley Invite, named after NJCAA Hall of Famer and former Northeastern Volleyball Head Coach Sheila Worley, is in its 41st year.

MICHEL'S NOTES

"Looking forward to playing the top teams in the nation," stated head coach Lyndsey Michel. "This tournament is a true test of what can be accomplsihed from our team. Barton will be a great test being an undefeated team. Lots of teams that look like ours - power-hitting, tall, strong athletes. We will clean up our serving and as long as we can be the aggresor on that side of things - I'm excited for a competitive weekend."

SCOUTING THE THUNDERBIRDS

Ranked No. 15 in the latest NJCAA national rankings, the New Mexico is off to an 8-4 start on the year.

• New Mexico enters the weekend having won four of its last five, but dropped its most recent match to Dodge City Community College (KS), 3-1.
• The Thunderbirds are 1-3 against teams in the latest national rankings this year
• New Mexico owns one of the top front lines in the nation, currently ranking seventh overall in the NJCAA with 117 total blocks.
• The Warriors are 1-0 all-time vs. New Mexico, a 3-0 win on August 27, 2022.

SCOUTING THE PLAINSWOMEN

This weekend's tournament host, No. 6 Northeastern has put together another impressive start following the team's run to last year's national tournament.

• The Plainswomen are 9-4 overall on the year, but are just 2-2 over the team's last four contests. 
• Northeastern is 2-3 against nationally ranked teams this year, including matchups against No. 1 Florida SouthWestern State College and No. 2 Miami Dade College (FL).
• Another dominant defensive presence, the Plainswomen rank eighth nationally with 196 total blocks on the year.
• Northeastern boasts four players with at least 20 blocks on the year, including Anna Ruter's 54, 10th most in the country.
• Indian Hills is 2-3 all-time vs. Northeastern, having won two of the last three matchups.

SCOUTING THE COUGARS

No. 4 Barton is off to an electric start to open the year and currently own a 12-0 record to start the 2024 campaign.

• Picked to finsih first in the competitive KJCCC this year, Barton has dropped just two sets on the year, sweeping 11 of its matches.
• The Cougars are 2-0 against nationally ranked opponents with wins over Eastern Arizona College and Navarro College (TX).
• Barton boasts the third-best hitting percentage in the nation with a .294 clip wihile the team's 12.5 kills/set rank sixth nationally.
• Indian Hills and Barton have met twice in program history with the Warriors winning 3-1 in both 2018 and 2022.

SCOUTING THE GOLDEN EAGLES

Laramie County enters the weekend with a 4-8 overall record on the year, having dropped three straight.

• The Golden Eagles have played a highly competitive schedule that features matchups against No. 1 Florida SouthWestern State College, No. 2 Miami Dade College (FL), and No. 3 New Mexico Military Institute.
• Laramie County is coming off a 29-8 mark in 2023, reaching the NJCAA Plains District Tournament.
• Indian Hills and Laramie County are meeting for the third time since 2018, and first since 2019, with the two sides splitting the series.

WHAT'S NEXT

The Warriors will welcome a lengthy break from competition with a 10-day hiatus before returning to action September 24 in Council Bluffs, IA for the ICCAC opener against league foe Iowa Western Community College.

HOW TO WATCH

As always, GoHillsTV provides free live broadcasts of Indian Hills Volleyball matches. Fans can tune in a number of ways all season long:

• Facebook: visit www.facebook.com/gohillstv
• GoHillsTV App: Download the GoHillsTV app on your android or ios device
• Website: https://www.gohillstv.com/browse to catch all live and archived information
• Roku Streaming Device:  Have a Roku TV or streaming stick? Download the GoHillsTV app to start streaming today!

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