Messenger photo by Britt Kudla Iowa Central celebrates after defeating NIACC on Wednesday inside Hodges Fieldhouse for the ICCAC volleyball title. For more photos, please visit CU.messengernews.net

The eighth-ranked Iowa Central volleyball team wasn’t about to let history slip away from them on Wednesday night.

With the school’s first ever back-to-back ICCAC championship and the No. 1 seed in the regional tournament hanging in the balance, the Tritons answered a NIACC rally to clinch their second straight league crown in front of a loud, jam-packed crowd inside Hodges Fieldhouse.

Iowa Central (32-5 overall, 8-1 in the league) cruised to victories in the first two sets, 25-13 and 25-15, but the Trojans (30-9, 7-2) took the third set, 25-22.

With the fourth set tied at 20, Iowa Central sent the standing-room only crowd into a frenzy, scoring five straight points for the outright title and their seventh straight victory at home.

“This was a really intense atmosphere,” said Iowa Central head coach Sara Horn. “With the regional tournament and postseason play around the corner, it’s good to feel those nerves and work through it and with it.

“This group is from all over, so for them to come together and (secure) the school’s first ever back-to-back championships — they united and formed that bond.”

Thirteen Iowa Central sophomores, who have a 17-1 league record in the last two seasons combined and are 58-19 at Iowa Central, went out in style on Wednesday.

“This group dosen’t get rattled under pressure,” Horn said. “They’ve stayed loose all season and kept cool heads.”

St. Edmond graduate Hannah Huss, who came to Iowa Central for her sophomore season after a one-year stint with Kirkwood, quickly forged a bond with her teammates and had no question what her team would do in clutch situations.

“We have a close-knit group,” said Huss, who is one of the four Triton captains. “We have a great bond, and everyone trusts each other.

“In that fourth set, we doubted ourselves a little — but we took the momentum back.”

Career kills leader Amaya Finley, who leads the nation in the category, broke the tie with a kill in the fourth set and the Tritons shut down the Trojans the rest of the way. Finley, who had 15 kills in the contest, had five in the final set.

“We came in fighting hard and knew it would be a tough match,” said Finley, who is also captain along with Huss, Katie Godfredsen and Taylor Light. “(In the fourth set), we knew we could trust each other and make the plays to win.

“This team is just special. We play as one team and have no drama.”

The Trojans kept the match alive with a furious rally in Game 3. The teams went back and forth, and with the Tritons leading 22-21, NIACC scored the final four points to stay alive.

Iowa Central came out of the gates on fire in the fourth game, though, building a 23-7 lead before the Trojans realized what had happened. Leading 14-7, the Tritons went on a 10-0 burst, led by Huss’ 9-for-9 serving stretch.

Sophomore Taylor Bienemann, who led the team with 29 digs, never had a doubt the Tritons would come out on top.

“We knew we would get it done (in Game 4). We just had to keep siding them out,” Bienemann said. “We have a great mentality, and we mesh well together as a team.”

Finley finished with 20 digs, while Godfredsen (13), Kealey Anderson (12) and Huss (11) were also leaders. Anderson contributed 15 kills.

Anderson has 523 kills on the season, which ranks in the Top-5 in the country.

Godfredsen had 25 assists, while Alesha Johnson chipped in with 19. Sophomore Abbie Stewart had 10 blocks.

Iowa Central will host the regional tournament and play its first match at 1 p.m. inside Hodges Fieldhouse on Saturday against a team to be determined.