Tritons in seventh heaven
Iowa Central volleyball team headed back to nationals
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The streak lives on for the Iowa Central volleyball team.
The third-ranked Tritons (33-3 overall) secured their seventh straight NJCAA national tournament appearance on Saturday at Hodges Fieldhouse.
"The national tournament is one of our favorite weeks," said ICCC head coach Sara Horn who recently earned her 400th career victory. "We always want to be one of the best in the nation.
"This is a great group of girls, and this was one of their goals at the beginning of the season."
Iowa Central was ninth at the national tournament last season.
"We try not to compare from year to year," Horn said. "It's kind of a double-edged sword. We want to learn from last season’s experience, but this is an entirely new team.
"We want to learn from the past, but don't want to be stuck there."
Iowa Central defeated North Dakota College of Science in four sets at Hodges Fieldhouse. The Tritons dropped the opening set 25-22, but came storming back with a 25-11 victory. They won a tight 27-25 third set, then closed out the match with a 25-16 win.
"We came out in the first set with adrenaline and nerves," Horn said. "We were a little too amped up. We cut down on our errors and adjusted as the match went on.
"We played lights out in set three and went out in set four and had control."
Fort Dodge Senior High graduate Meah McCaleb led the Tritons with 16 digs in the victory. Devon Rodewald added 14 and Abby Jensen contributed 12.
"I love this sophomore group," Horn said. "We have a good balance with leaders and younger players. The sophomores set good examples, and also take care of business in the classroom."
Freshman Clara Newton had 18 kills and Kampbell Bright tallied 15. Cooper Griffin checked in with 12.
Freshman Annie Elbert had 48 assists.
"We've seen the potential of Clara since the beginning of the season," Horn said. "She has gotten better little by little all year long.
"She has been working on her confidence. She's had a fantastic week and led in kills. It's super exciting to see that when there are nerves and big matches on the line and girls push through. It's very meaningful."
The NJCAA national tournament is in Cedar Rapids Nov. 18-21.