Tritons unbeaten at home invite
The run of early season success continued here Saturday afternoon for the 11th-ranked Iowa Central volleyball team.
A pair of straight-set sweeps by the Tritons gave them a 4-0 mark during their home tournament inside Hodges Fieldhouse.
Iowa Central handled both No. 15 Rock Valley and Rochester Tech, pushing its win streak to eight this year while improving to 97-12 since 2017 at home.
“It’s always fun hosting a tournament with multiple ranked teams,” ICCC head coach Sara Horn said. “It’s a loud, fun environment and our girls did a great job of using that energy to fuel their own.”
The Tritons also topped No. 24 Kansas City-Kansas and Neosho County on Friday, as ninth-ranked Illinois Central was in attendance for the event.
In the win over Rock Valley, Talya Sampson had eight kills, Brooke Lensing added seven and both former Manson Northwest Webster standouts Emily Goodner and Olivia Sturgis had five each.
Goodner recorded a team-high 12 digs, Natalie Hagadon had 10 and both Anabel Seaman and Dani Anela Kapu registered 12 assists each. Araya Garrison had seven aces and Kapu five as the Tritons tallied 15 aces as a team.
Lensing led a balanced attack vs. Rochester Tech with eight kills. Goodner had seven, Sturgis six and both Garrison and Sampson five. Seaman had 21 assists, Olivia Benson 15 digs and Hagadon five aces.
“Our girls really came to play this weekend, especially against our ranked opponents by not dropping a set to either of them,” Horn said. “Our serving and blocking made it really tough for teams to get much rhythm against us.”
Iowa Central returns to ICCAC play on Wednesday, hosting North Iowa Area beginning at 7 p.m.