Carterville, IL – For the first time since 2019, the Indian Hills Volleyball is headed to the National Junior College Athletic Association (NJCAA) DI Volleyball National Tournament. The Warriors swept through the Midwest District A Tournament to earn an automatic berth to this year's national tournament.
The No. 2 ranked Warriors defeated Kaskaskia College (IL) 3-0 in the semifinal matchup before sweeping John A. Logan (IL) in the championship match to secure the program's fourth all-time appearance at the national tournament. Indian Hills previously earned berths to the national tournament in 2019, 2005, and 2004. The Warriors are 7-4 all-time at the national tournament with the program's best finish coming in 2004 with a third-place showing.
Ranked in the top-10 in the national polls for the duration of the regular season, the Warriors have won 14 matches in a row including six consecutive sweeps.
The 2022 NJCAA DI Volleyball National Tournament gets underway Thursday, November 17 at the West Plains Civic Center in West Plains, MO, the same site as the 2004 tournament that saw the Warriors place third. The Warriors will learn their seed and opponent for this year's national tournament on Thursday, November 10.
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— GoHillsTV (@GoHillsTv) November 5, 2022
For the first time since 2019, @ihccvolleyball is headed to the @NJCAAVolleyball National Tournament after sweeping through the Midwest District Championship! pic.twitter.com/ccGMBuaZKq
The Warriors proved to be in full force Saturday at the JALC Gymnasium on the John A. Logan campus. Indian Hills led from the opening serve and never looked back. The Warriors defeated Kaskaskia in the opening match by set scores of 25-13, 25-18, and 25-20 before upending John A. Logan 25-21, 25-17, and 25-18 in the championship match.
Fans can purchase exclusive Indian Hills Volleyball Championship gear here: 2022 INDIAN HILLS VOLLEYBALL CHAMPIONSHIP APPARAEL
Looking to watch the Warriors live throughout the tournament? The Indian Hills Athletics Department will host an on-campus Watch Party. More information will be available in the coming days.
Freshman Larissa Barreiros Scatamburlo (Rio de Janeiro, Brazil/Colégio Liceu Franco-Brasileiro) led the offensive attack in the opening match with 13 kills and 28 attempts for a .321 hitting percentage. Scatamburlo also added 11 digs for the freshman's 11th double-double of the season.
Jenna Vallée (Pornichet, France/Lycee Aristide Briand) added 11 kills and 13 digs in the victory. Sophomore Hennesys Lalane (Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic/Colegio Luis Munox Rivera) posted 37 assists and a team-high five service aces. Sasha Vidal (Asunscion, Paraguay/Trinity School) totaled a team-high 23 digs for the Warriors.
Vallee provided the championship-clinching kill in the nightcap vs. John A. Logan to send the Warriors to West Plains. The victory brought to an end a drought at the national tournament that saw the Warriors come within one set of earning an automatic berth each of the last two seasons. This year's NJCAA Region XI Champion, the Warriors had fallen in five sets to Missouri State University-West Plains in each of the last two District tournaments.
As of Sunday night, 13 of the 14 automatic berths had been secured with the final spot to be determined Tuesday night. Along with the 14 automatic qualifiers, two at-large bids are up for grabs.
Stay tuned to Indian Hills Athletics at www.indianhillsathletics.com and @ihccathletics on social media platforms for more information as the Warriors are set to head to the national tournament.
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