Messenger photo by Britt Kudla Amaya Finley of Iowa Central goes up for a spike against Hawkeye on Wednesday inside Hodges Fieldhouse. For more photos, please visit CU.messengernews.net

Year in and year out, the ICCAC ranks as one of the top junior college volleyball leagues in the nation.

Which makes what 12th-ranked Iowa Central has been able to accomplish even more impressive.

The Tritons picked up their 12th consecutive conference win here Wednesday night, sweeping Hawkeye in dominating fashion.

Scores were 25-15, 25-18 and 25-15 inside Hodges Fieldhouse.

After going unbeaten in the league a year ago in claiming the regular season title, Iowa Central (17-1 overall) has won its first three matches this year. Overall, they are now on a 15-match win streak.

While some might feel added pressure of trying to duplicate the success of 2018, Triton head coach Sara Horn doesn’t see any of that from her squad.

“This sophomore class is about the complete opposite of last year,” Horn said. “Last year, they were like fire. This year, they are very cool. I don’t know that they feel any pressure. Instead, they feel like this is our team and we are going to do our thing.”

Amaya Finley, one of those returning second-year players, once again led the way with 17 kills. She added 10 digs, assisted on two blocks and had one of 10 Iowa Central aces.

Kealey Anderson had 10 kills, eight digs and an ace, Taylor Light added eight kills, and both Abbie Stewart and Haley Alharithy had four kills each.

“This is the most balanced offensive team we’ve had here,” Horn said. “We have heavy arms. I think over the last five years, this is definitely our most solid and most impressive hitting lineup.

“We can run a 5-1 and any of the five hitters can all get kills out there.”

Alesha Johnson recorded 39 assists and had 11 digs, with Taylor Bienemann adding 15 digs. Sydni George tallied four aces, and Johnson had three.

Despite the string of victories, Horn has used her roster depth to mix-and-match lineups at times. Now, she feels the correct rotation is coming into picture.

“We have experienced with different lineups and that can be hard for the girls,” she said. “They have done a really good job of balancing being competitive and wanting to win with what we are working on.

“Last year, it took us until about the second week in September to finalize who should be starting and in which position. This is just the closest group we’ve ever had in terms of the depth chart, so it has taken us time to figure it all out.”

The Tritons entered the match with Hawkeye (6-8, 1-2) ranked in the Top-5 in NJCAA Div. II in kills, digs, blocks and assists as a squad. Both Finley and Anderson are in the Top-5 individually as well.

Since the 2016 season, Iowa Central has gone 36-9 at home and 24-4 in the ICCAC. This was their first home match in two weeks.

“Hawkeye is a good team and you just never know how it’s going to go,” Horn said. “We haven’t been home in a while, but I thought we came out really strong in our serve-pass game and that allowed our attackers to have a lot of connections.”

The Tritons are off until next Wednesday when they travel to Estherville to face Iowa Lakes. Next home action is Oct. 2 vs. Southwestern.