Council Bluffs, IA – The No. 18 nationally ranked Indian Hills Volleyball team secured its third consecutive Iowa Community College Athletic Conference (ICCAC) DI Volleyball regular season title after dropping Iowa Western Community College 3-1 on Wednesday night. The win pushes the Warriors to 21-9 overall on the year and 2-1 in league play.
The Warriors clinched the top seed from the ICCAC in the upcoming National Junior College Athletic Association (NJCAA) DI Volleyball Midwest B District Tournament by taking three consecutive sets to close out the night vs. the Reivers. After dropping set one 25-23, the Warriors took the next three, 25-14, 31-29, and 25-17.
Indian Hills, who has two regular season non-conference matches remaining on the schedule, earns an automatic bid to the semifinal round of the six-team NJCAA Midwest District Tournament November 8-10 in Illinois. The Warriors will learn their bracket and opponent in the coming weeks before postseason play gets underway.
Sara Van Gisteren (Leuth, Netherlands/Young Talent Academy ROC Nijmegen), this week's ICCAC Offensive Athlete of the Week, put home 22 kills for the Warriors on 36 attempts for a .417 hitting percentage, the ninth time this season the sophomore has surpassed the .400% clip. Van Gisteren upped her season total to 524 kills on the year, second-most in the nation and more than 80 kills ahead of the next individual.
Joanna Pawlik (Lublin, Poland/Nauczycieli Tajnego Nauczania) produced a solid effort for the Warriors with 10 kills with just two attacking errors on 26 attempts. As a team, the Warriors produced a .352 hitting percentage, their second-best mark of the year.
Aleksandra Oles (Tomaszów Lubelski, Poland/1 LO Tomaszów Lubelski) continued an impressive stretch of play for the Warriors as the freshman put home a career-high six service aces. Oles becomes just the fourth player over the last eight season to tally at least six aces in a single match. Oles has now tallied nine aces in her last three contests for the Warriors.
Trailing 21-15 in the opening set, the Warriors showed signs of life, scoring eight of the next nine points out of a timeout, but the Reivers held on down the stretch to take the opener. Indian Hills carried its momentum into the second set with a dominant effort, leading by as many as 12 to even the match at 1-1.
A tight battle ensued in set three as the two longtime foes found themselves in extra points in the tiebreaker. Indian Hills prevailed down the stretch as Piper Nelson (Atkins, IA / Benton) put home the game-winning ace to give the Warriors a commanding 2-1 lead.
Indian Hills jumped out early in set four with a 5-1 advantage before Iowa Western clawed back to even the set at 11-11. The Warriors slowly chipped away, eventually building back a six-point advantage before sophomore Daniela De Los Santos Castillo (Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic/Colegio los Clavelines) put home the game-winner to clinch the regular season title for the Warriors.
Sophomore Ana Carolina Westerich (Blumenau, Brazil/Colégio Energia) tallied 42 assists on the night and is now just three helpers shy of 2,500 for her career at Indian Hills.
Nelson finished the night with a career-high four aces for the Warriors, including two in the pivotal third set. As a team, the Warriors tallied 14 service aces on the night, tied for the second-most on the year. Nelson added seven kills on the offensive front for the Warriors.
Castillo, this week's ICCAC DI Volleyball Defensive Player of the Week, was once again solid at the net for the Warriors. The sophomore tallied five total blocks, including three solo stops. Castillo also added eight kills on 14 attempts.
Sophomore Sabrina Nogueira Da Silva (São Paulo, Brazil/Colégio Campos Salles) continued to climb the Indian Hills record books as the libero surpassed 1,200 digs for her career with 22 on the night.
Indian Hills has a quick turnaround with its regular season home finale Thursday afternoon vs. Northeast Community College. Action from the Hellyer Center gets underway at 3:00 PM, with Sophomore Day festivities set to begin right before first serve.
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