Odessa, TX – No. 19 Indian Hills Volleyball continued to bolster its early season resume with a pair of statement wins at the Odessa College Invitational on Friday. The Warriors defeated No. 2 nationally ranked New Mexico Military Institute and tournament host Odessa College (TX) to move to 7-0 on the year.
The Warriors fell behind early against New Mexico Military, the defending national runners-up from a year ago, after dropping the opening two sets. Indian Hills rallied, sweeping the Broncos over the final three frames for one of the biggest victories in program history. The Warriors won by set scores of 21-25, 19-25, 26-24, 25-13, and 15-7.
Indian Hills followed up in the nightcap against the Wranglers of Odessa who entered the match undefeated at 7-0. The Warriors handled the tournament hosts with ease, sweeping Odessa 25-14, 25-20, and 25-15.
"This team is capable of all the things when we show up with fire form the start," stated head coach Lyndsey Michel. "Our defense and serve receive on our first touches were near flawless after our first two sets today."
The Warriors opened up action at the Odessa Invite with a lead midway through the first set over New Mexico Military. With Indian Hills leading 16-14, the Broncos responded and took the opening frame before jumping out to a big lead in set two to put Indian Hills in a 2-0 deficit.
Indian Hills regrouped before the opening tip of the third set and built a marginal 12-6 lead. The Broncos answered and eventually took a 20-19 lead, but the Warriors prevailed as Larissa Barreiros Scatamburlo (Rio de Janeiro, Brazil/Colégio Liceu Franco-Brasileiro) put home the game-winner to keep Indian Hills alive.
The Warriors carried that momentum into the fourth set and kept its distance throughout the frame for the 25-13 victory. The Warriors committed just one attack error in the final set and rolled past the Broncos for the thrilling come-from-behind victory.
The win over the Broncos was the first over a top-two nationally ranked program since the Warriors knocked off then-No. 1 nationally ranked Tyler Junior College (TX) in five sets on October 3, 2015. Current Indian Hills Assistant Volleyball Coach Sarah Ryder was a member of that year's squad and led the team with 19 digs in the upset win.
Scatamburlo, the nation's kills leader entering the weekend, posted a team-high 18 finishers to pace the offense. Hennesys Lalane (Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic/Colegio Luis Munox Rivera) continued to create opportunities at the net and distributed a team-high 46 assists. Sasha Vidal (Asunscion, Paraguay/Trinity School) totaled 34 digs to add on to her nation-leading total on the year.
"Hennesys showed out today," Michel noted. "She took charge of the day when we were down two sets and never looked back."
Sophomore Erica Calderon Rosario (Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic/Salome Urena de Henriquez) posted nine total blocks in the win and now leads the nation by a wide margin with 41 blocks on the year. "Erika is a mad blocker," stated Michel. "She has really stepped up her blocking game this past offseason. We always knew she could score, but has put both offense and defense together for us early on."
The Warriors had little trouble with Odessa despite the Wranglers entering the match at 7-0, including two straight wins to open this weekend's tournament. Sophomore Jenna Vallée (Pornichet, France/Lycee Aristide Briand) posted a team-high 12 kills and added a pair of service aces. Scatamburlo added 10 kills for her sixth double-digit total in seven matches this year.
"We depend a lot on Larissa, but once we have people worried about her, everything else opens wide up and everyone is pretty unstoppable," Michel added.
Lalane added 32 assists in the win along with eight kills and no errors in nine total attempts.
The Warriors wrap up play on Saturday at the Odessa tournament with a 9:00 AM start vs. No. 11 Salt Lake Community College (UT) and a 1:00 PM jump vs. New Mexico Junior College. The Warriors return home next week for a pair of matches at the Hellyer Center vs. DMACC on Monday and Carl Sandburg College (IL) on Wednesday.
"This is a fun team to watch," Michel added. "We hope our fans can come watch us at the Hellyer Center next week when we host Monday and Wednesday."
Saturday's match vs. Salt Lake will be streamed live HERE. The finale vs. New Mexico will not be streamed.
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WARRIORS STUN NO. 2!!! – No. 19-ranked @ihccvolleyball knocked off No. 2-ranked @NMMIvb at the Odessa Invitational in Texas as the Warriors dropped the first 2 sets only to storm back to take the 5-set victory, 21-25, 19-25, 26-24, 25-13 & 15-xx. Up next: vs @OCWranglerVB at 6p. pic.twitter.com/ovwD4S5sJ5
— IHCC Athletics (@IHCCAthletics) August 26, 2022