Trending
ROCKFORD, Ill. – The No. 10 Iowa Central volleyball team served notice right off the bat to begin the season here in tournament action.
After besting Muskegon and 11th-ranked St. Johns River State on Thursday, the Tritons swept Moraine Valley and No. 1 Heartland – the defending national champions – on Friday.
"The open weekend tournament is a great way to gauge where your team is at to start the season," ICCC head coach Sara Horn said. "There are 89 junior college teams all in one place, with most of the Top-25 teams there. We started out pretty nervous and high error for our first set vs. Muskegon, but we did a great job of getting a little better each set, lessening our errors.
"We have a really deep roster this season, with multiple options at every position. We were able to play 19 different players this week, with at least 11 playing every match. This depth will be important during this long season as we can use different lineups against different opponents."
Iowa Central knocked off Heartland by scores of 25-21, 25-22 and 25-15, as Kampbell Bryte recorded eight kills and Cooper Griffin seven. Meah McCaleb, a Fort Dodge Senior High grad, recorded 16 digs with a service ace.
Both Madison Rogers and Addie Law finished with six kills. Meya Wingert dished out 30 assists.
"Our backrow is rock solid," Horn said. "Meah McCaleb leads a high level group of defensive specialists who make it hard for anyone – our team included at our practices – to get kills. We found out this week that it's a lot easier to get kills against other teams than it is our own.
"Beating the defending national champions was a good way to end a successful tournament. We still saw a lot of things we can work on and get better at, but going home 4-0 should give us some good energy going into our first week of conference play."
The Tritons started Friday off with a 25-10, 25-11 and 25-8 triumph over Moraine Valley, with Clara Newton picking up seven kills. Wingert had 21 assists and McCaleb seven digs in the match.
Griffin tallied eight kills, with Bryte adding six and Grace Farnsworth five vs. Muskegon (25-21, 25-11 and 25-14). McCaleb had nine digs and Devon Rodewald eight.
The closest match of the tournament was a five-set win over St. Johns River State by scores of 25-20, 22-25, 23-25, 25-14 and 15-10. Rylyn McCarty had 18 kills, Griffin 13 and Bryte 11, with Wingert recording 51 assists.
McCaleb led with 17 digs, adding three assists and an ace, as Rodewald had 13 digs.
Iowa Central opens ICCAC play on Wednesday in Iowa Falls vs. Ellsworth beginning at 6 p.m.