Ottumwa, IA – No. 18 Indian Hills Volleyball dropped a thrilling five-set battle against Iowa Western Community College on Tuesday night, ending a four-game winning streak against the Reivers. The Warriors fall to 25-10 on the year.
Tuesday night's Iowa Community College Athletic Conference (ICCAC) saw a back-and-forth battle across all five sets as neither side held a lead larger than six on the night. The Warriors took the opening set 25-18 before dropping the next two frames, 25-23 and 25-22. Indian Hills bounced back to force a fifth set with a 25-21 win in set four, but the Reivers prevailed in the closing points to take a 15-10 victory.
The Warriors, who already clinched the regular season series two games to one over the Reivers, saw its four-match win streak over the Reivers throughout the last two seasons come to an end.
Despite the loss, the Warriors saw a number of impressive individual performances, led by sophomore Kinga Michalska's (Szówsko, Poland/ZSSCHiO) team-high 26 kills, just one shy of a career-high. The outside hitter was joined by freshman Sara Van Gisteren's (Leuth, Netherlands/Young Talent Academy ROC Nijmegen) 24 kills, tied for a career-high, and 11 finishers from sophomore Gabriela Bieniek (Rzeszow, Poland / VLO Rzeszow).
Freshman Sabrina Nogueira Da Silva (São Paulo, Brazil/Colégio Campos Salles) collected 17 digs on the night and now ranks ninth in the nation in total digs on the year with 545.
The opening set saw the Reivers jump out to a quick 2-0 lead, but the Warriors battled back in a tight first frame. An ace from Maggie Paiva (Asunción, Paraguay/Trinity School) following an Iowa Western timeout pushed the Warriors' lead to 21-16 before a Van Gisteren ace closed out the first set.
Indian Hills jumped out to a sizable 8-2 lead, the largest advantage of the night for either side before the Reivers rallied to a force a series of ties midway through the set. Iowa Western took a late lead only to see the Warriors threaten down the stretch, but the visitors held on for the equalizer.
Set three proved to be another battle as the Warriors held a narrow 15-13 advantage at the media timeout. Iowa Western powered its way to a 21-17 lead before a pair of Vitoria Dias Silva (Rio de Janeiro, Brazil/Sistema Elite de Ensino) kills brought the home team back within striking distance. A late push from the Warriors was not enough as Iowa Western went ahead 2-1.
The fourth frame saw a lead no larger than two throughout the duration of the set. Trailing 14-11, the Warriors called Daniela De Los Santos Castillo (Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic/Colegio los Clavelines) to step up and the freshman provided a momentum-shifting block to spark the Warriors. Indian Hills used a pair of late kills from Van Gisteren to take control and eventually force the decisive fifth set.
The two longtime league foes traded points early on in the fifth frame before the Reivers pulled ahead. A late kill from Bieniek ignited the offense only to see Iowa Western score five of the final seven points to seal the victory.
Michalska, who ranks second in the nation with 468 kills on the year, is now just three kills away from the 900 career kill milestone. The sophomore has now posted seven matches with at least 20 kills on the year, including four in the team's last seven contests.
Van Gisteren climbed the national leaderboard and now ranks seventh nationally with 415 kills on the year. Along with Michalska, the tandem leads the nation in combined kills between teammates this year and becomes the first set of Indian Hills teammates to reach 400 kills in a single season since Mariana Rodrigues and Cecilia Campos in 2018.
Indian Hills is set to wrap up its regular season October 30 at the Hellyer Center with a 6:00 PM date against Des Moines Area Community College as part of sophomore night.
The Warriors will then host the upcoming National Junior College Athletic Association (NJCAA) DI Volleyball Midwest District Tournament at the Hellyer Center on November 4.
