-Messenger photo by Britt Kudla Iowa Central celebrate a victory over the Southeastern Blackhawks during the region Championship on Wednesday inside Hodges Fieldhouse

In front of a packed Hodges Fieldhouse here Wednesday night, the seventh-ranked Iowa Central volleyball team punched a sixth consecutive ticket to the NJCAA Div. II National Tournament.

The Tritons claimed the Region 11-A Tournament crown with a sweep over Southeastern by scores of 25-9, 25-16 and 25-14.

Iowa Central (30-7 overall) will now advance to nationals, which will be held in Cedar Rapids on Nov. 19-22. They placed ninth last year in the field.

“Our motto for the season is ‘Pressure is a Privilege,'” ICCC head coach Sara Horn said. “They know that when you come to a program with high expectations that has been successful, the pressure to perform is there.

“But our girls really embraced that. We knew this would be a high-pressure situation with a big crowd. Southeastern didn’t play well the first time we met, so we knew they would be better, but our girls were just super solid and they came out and controlled from start to finish.”

Shirley Monaghan recorded 14 kills, Talya Sampson added 13 and Anabel Seaman dished out 33 assists with 12 digs to lead the way for Iowa Central, who went 14-0 at home this past season, including an upset of then-No. 1 Kirkwood that clinched the regular season ICCAC title and top-seed in regionals.

Freshman Meah McCaleb, a Fort Dodge Senior High graduate, added 13 digs with four assists, as Monaghan had 13 digs and Sampson seven. Addi Hindt, a Southeast Valley grad, finished with a kill, a dig and a block assist.

“We had a couple of girls sick, but they battled through,” Horn said. “I feel like they just really all did their jobs and we had a lot of success.”

Cooper Griffin tallied seven kills, Dena Robb four and Devon Rodewald one. Monaghan had three service aces, as both Seaman and Rodewald recorded two each. Griffin and Robb had three block assists while Monaghan and Sampson both had one solo block.

After receiving their last five national tournament bids from previous Iowa Central athletic director Kevin Twait, Horn accepted this one from her husband, current athletic director Guy Horn.

“Yeah, it was neat going out and shaking his hand,” Horn said. “Hopefully it was fun for him too.”

The Tritons, who have finished as high as third at nationals, have won 10 in a row. They went 9-5 in neutral site games this past season. They have also won at least 30 matches four straight seasons.