Council Bluffs, IA – The No. 19 nationally ranked Indian Hills Volleyball team was put to the test from the jump in its season-opener on Friday. The Warriors battled through a pair of five-set matches and came away with two victories at the Reiver Classic on the Iowa Western Community College campus.

The Warriors squared off with Hutchinson Community College (KS) in its season-opener. The Blue Dragons stole the first set 29-27, but the Warriors responded with two consecutive set wins, 25-18, and 25-21. Hutchinson rallied back in the fourth set to force the decisive fifth-set, a frame the Warriors held on to win 15-13.

The Warriors were put to the test once again in its second match of the day against Casper College (WY). Indian Hills jumped out to a 1-0 lead after earning a 25-20 first-set victory. Casper responded with two straight wins, 26-24 and 25-22 before Indian Hills took the fourth set 25-17. The Warriors exploded in the final set with a .737 hitting percentage to drop the Thunderbirds 15-3 and walk away with its second win of the afternoon.

"We have to continue to clean up our serve receive and first touches on the ball – if we do that, we are plenty capable of competing at the highest of levels," stated head coach Lyndsey Michel. "Hennesys (Lalane) is doing an incredible job moving the ball around and it's proving very beneficial for all of our hitters. Our offense is strong when our pass is on."

Hennesys Lalane (Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic / Colegio Luis Munox Rivera) posted back-to-back matches of 58 and 48 assists to coordinate the offensive flow for the Warriors. The 58 assists are the second-highest of Lalane's career. The COVID-Sophomore also added 10 total service aces, including six in the opening match.

"We are seeing benefits from being aggressive serving and if we just continue to grow in those areas, we will continue to have offense that wins again and again," Michel added.

13 different Warriors saw action on Friday as the team put together an all-around impressive performance on both the offensive and defensive side of the ball.

Sophomore Jenna Vallee (Pornichet, France/Lycee Aristide Briand) led the charge in the opening match with 17 kills on 39 attempts while forcing just one error for a .410 hitting percentage. As a team, the Warriors hit .377 in the victory. Larissa Barreiros Scatamburlo (Rio de Janeiro, Brazil/Colégio Liceu Franco-Brasileiro) added 16 kills on a team-high 40 attempts without committing an error in her first collegiate start. The freshman added 12 digs and a pair of block assists.

"Larissa is a beautiful addition to a solid nucleus from last year," Michel noted. "She's scoring points and is both a calming factor and motivator for her teammates."

Sash Vidal (Asunscion, Paraguay / Trinity School) paced the Warriors on the defensive front with a team-high 30 digs. Erica Calderon Rosario (Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic/Salome Urena de Henriquez) totaled nine blocks in the win, including three solo stops.

The Warriors posted a .366 team hitting percentage in the nightcap vs. Casper, led by Scatamburlo's 14 kills. Kinga Michalska (Szówsko, Poland/ZSSCHiO) added 13 winners while hitting .524 for Indian Hills. Esra Akcay (Izmir, Turkey/Izmir Ozel Obek) tallied four service aces to make an impact for the Warriors.

"Esra is stepping up in a huge way just coming in and serving us – she's got a very challenging serve that creates big plays," Michel added. "Erica had a great first day in her second year back with us as well."

Indian Hills is back in action Saturday at the Reiver Classic with two more matches. Saturday's challenge pits the Warriors against two nationally ranked opponents – No. 5 Butler Community College (KS) at 1:00 PM and No. 12 Jefferson College (MO) at 3:00 PM.

TWO-FOR-TWO! No. 19-ranked @ihccvolleyball took its 2nd consecutive 5-set win this evening in Council Bluffs as the Warriors downed @TBirds_VB, 25-20, 24-26, 22-25, 25-17, 15-3. Next up: vs. No. 5 @BucoVolleyball (1p) and No. 12 @JeffcoVB (3:30p) Saturday back in Council Bluffs. pic.twitter.com/qgMOn0zD8t

— IHCC Athletics (@IHCCAthletics) August 19, 2022