Hutchinson, KS – The No. 17 ranked Indian Hills Volleyball squad hits the road for the Blue Dragon Classic on the campus of Hutchinson Community College (KS) this weekend.

DETAILS: 2023 Blue Dragon Classic

Hutchinson, KS  |  Hutchinson Sports Arena

Friday, September 22 – Saturday, September 23

ADMISSION: $10 per person/per day

Riding a four-game win streak, the No. 17 Indian Hills Volleyball squad returns to action for the first time in a week as the Warriors take on four opponents at the Blue Dragon Classic.

FIRST SERVE

After falling out of the national rankings for the first time in two seasons, the Warriors are back in the NJCAA top-20 having won seven of its last eight contests, including a win over conference foe Iowa Western Community College on September 12.

The Blue Dragon Classic features six teams competing through the two-day event at the Hutchinson Sports Arena.

• The Warriors enter the Classic as the lone nationally ranked team while Hutchinson appears in the 'Others Receiving Votes' category.
• Indian Hills has previously matched up with Butler this season but will be competing against Spartanburg Methodist for the first time.
• The Warriors will take on Mineral Area and Hutchinson for the first time this year, but will see each program down the road at the Mineral Area Tournament in Park Hills, MO October 13-14.

WARRIORS TO WATCH

The Warriors' hot streak has been backed by the play of a number of impressive individual performances.

• Teammates Sara Van Gisteren and Kinga Michalska are one of just seven sets of teammates to each have 200 kills or more on the year across the 88 NJCAA DI teams in the country.
  • Michalska is averaging 18.8 kills/match over the team's last four outings and continues to climb the all-time leaderboard at Indian Hills with 645 career kills.
  • Van Gisteren's 225 kills this season rank 19th in the nation.
• Sabrina Nogueira Da Silva has led the Warriors defensively with a team-high 242 digs this year.
• Ana Carolina Westerich has paced the offense with 496 assists this season, the 18th most in the nation.

SCOUTING THE PIONEERS (9-5)

Spartanburg Methodist enters the weekend on a dominant run, having won its last six contests all by way of 3-0 sweeps.

• Friday's meeting will be the first all-time matchup between the Warriors and Pioneers.
• The Pioneers opened the season with four straight losses, but have since won nine of its last 10 contests.
• Spartanburg Methodist ranks ninth in the nation with 2.62 service aces/set.
• The offense ranks 17^th in the nation with 11.15 assists/set.
• Hana Vucinic ranks 22^nd in the nation with 34 service aces on the year.
• Aurora Aho leads the tem with 159 kills on 450 attempts this season.

SCOUTING THE BLUE DRAGONS (12-5)

Indian Hills will take on tournament host Hutchinson in Friday's nightcap at the Hutchinson Sports Arena.

• The Blue Dragons have seen an up-and-down season, but have won two in a row and three of its last four and sit in a first-place tie in the KJCCC West standings.
• Indian Hills owns a 7-5 advantage over the Blue Dragons in the last 12 matchups after winning both contests over Hutchinson during the 2022 season.
• Hutchinson ranks in the top-10 in total blocks (9^th), block solos (7^th), and block assists (7).
• Sophmoore Anna Dean ranks 12^th in the nation with 70 total blocks on the year.

SCOUTING THE CARDINALS (12-3)

Mineral Area has won three consecutive contests via 3-0 sweeps as the Cardinals head to the Blue Dragon Classic with just three losses on the year.

• Mineral Area has played more than three sets in a match just twice this year.
• The Warriors have won three in a row against the Cardinals and six of the last seven meetings against their NJCAA Midwest District foe.
• Two of Mineral Area's three losses this year have come against District opponents – Jefferson College (MO) and Vincennes University (IN).
• The Cardinals rank third nationally with 19.49 digs/set.
• Four different individuals have tallied more than 100 digs on the year, led by Summer Meyer's 199.

SCOUTING THE GRIZZLIES (9-7)

Saturday's matchup with the Grizzlies will be a rematch from an August 19 date at the Reiver Classic that saw the then-No. 17 Grizzlies drop Indian Hills 3-0.

• Since beating the Warriors, Butler is just 7-5 over its last 12 contests, including 3-3 over its last six.
• Dating back to the 2010 season, the Grizzlies own a 4-2 record over the Warriors, but Indian Hills has taken two of the last three.
• The Grizzlies rank 17^th in the nation with 2.14 blocks/set this season.
• Freshman Sarah Sullivan's 144 kills lead four players with at least 100 kills on the year.

WHAT'S NEXT

The Warriors return to the Hellyer Center for a cross-division matchup against Hawkeye Community College at 6:00 PM on September 25.

Fans can purchase their tickets here: INDIAN HILLS VS. HAWKEYE

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