Photo by Paul DeCoursey: Angel Baylark spikes the ball for Iowa Central on Tuesday inside Hodges Fieldhouse.

Molly McCauley found herself thrust into the starting lineup here Tuesday night for the eighth-ranked Iowa Central volleyball team.

McCauley, a former Algona High School standout, recorded eight digs, three serving aces, two block assists and a kill in helping the Tritons rebound from their first loss of the season with a sweep over Northeast inside Hodges Fieldhouse.

Scores were 25-21, 25-23 and 25-18.

“I was very excited to be able to step on the court with my teammates,” McCauley said. “I felt nervous at first, but was very thankful for my teammates to keep reassuring me throughout the game.

“It was very rewarding for me as I try to go into practice everyday to get the team and myself better. It is most definitely a good night to leave with a win in three.”

McCauley finished off the win in the second set with an ace as Iowa Central (10-1 overall, 9-1 in ICCAC) erased a 7-0 deficit. She started the third with a kill as part of a 9-4 run to begin the action.

“We know what Molly is capable of,” Iowa Central head coach Sara Horn said. “We played her against DMACC and she did very well. She really stepped up and had a nice night.”

Katilyn Steffes led the Tritons with 23 kills and six digs, while Kealey Anderson added nine kills and 11 digs. Angel Baylark recorded eight kills, Haley Alharithy six and Alesha Johnson had 39 assists.

“I thought we had a slow finish to the first set and that carried over into the second,” Horn said. “But we were able to regroup and figure things out on the court. We had trouble doing that against DMACC, so that was good to see.”

Iowa Central had its nine-match win streak snapped at the hands of the fourth-ranked Bears last week. The Tritons did earn a sweep over DMACC back in January at home where they are now 52-10 since the start of the 2016 season.

Steffes and Anderson each added an ace with former Algona prep Baylyn Johnson recording 19 digs and two assists. Alesha Johnson had 11 digs and Alharithy four block assists with a solo block.

For the Hawks (3-10, 2-9), Payton Weber had 11 kills and Carly Hirsch nine.

Iowa Central is right back in action when they head to Indian Hills (3-5, 1-3) Wednesday night beginning at 6 p.m.