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Tritons cap another banner regular season
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Hodges Fieldhouse has become quite the home environment for the Iowa Central volleyball team under head coach Sara Horn.
Horn's third-ranked Tritons put a cap on the regular season here Tuesday night, sweeping Western Iowa Tech to secure second place in the ICCAC and the right to host regionals.
Scores were 25-20, 25-22 and 25-17.
Iowa Central (30-3 overall, 12-1 in the league) is 11-1 at home this season and 81-8 over the past six years. They have reached the NJCAA Div. II National Tournament six years in a row, winning five regional championships during that span.
"This was an important match, as we were playing for the right to host all of the regional tournament games," Horn said. "WIT is a sophomore-heavy team with a very strong Libero and setter. They force you into some long rallies.
"We did a good job of being patient and finding kills to end the rallies."
Meah McCaleb, a sophomore and Fort Dodge Senior High grad, recorded a team-high 21 digs, adding three assists and an ace. Cooper Griffin tallied 10 kills, Clara Newton nine and both Madison Rogers and Kampbell Bryte had seven.
Annie Elbert finished with 35 assists, eight digs and six kills. Rylyn McCarty had four kills.
Devon Rodewald recorded 11 digs, two assists and two aces. Grace Farnsworth chipped in two kills.
Iowa Central had eight block assists as a team, with McCarty recording three.
After taking the first set, the Tritons rallied to secure the second. Down 19-17, they outscored WIT the remainder of the way, 8-3, to take the set and a commanding 2-0 lead.
McCaleb was honored for recently reaching 1,000 career digs in a ceremony and presentation with Horn.
"We have a good chance of playing WIT next Wednesday for the regional championship," Horn said. "It was great to win in three to carry over a lot of confidence."
The Tritons have only lost to second-ranked Cowley County and once to No. 1 Kirkwood, which claimed the ICCAC regular season crown. The Eagles will host the Region 11-A Tournament in Cedar Rapids, with Iowa Central doing the same for the Region 11-B bracket.
Matches begin Saturday, with the regional finals taking place Wednesday, Nov. 4. The higher-seeded regional champion automatically qualifies for nationals while the other advances to the North Central-B district title on Saturday, Nov. 7.
The NJCAA Div. II National Tournament is Nov. 18-21 in Cedar Rapids.