Wednesday, Oct. 16
Division I Conference Matches
Iowa Western (21-7; 3-0) def. Marshalltown (26-10; 0-3), 3-0
For the second time this season, Iowa Western swept through Marshalltown 3-0. In fact, since Marshalltown joined Division I Volleyball in 2014, Iowa Western has won every set against the Tigers in 12 matches (36 sets).
Last night, Kelsey Havel had 13 kills to lead the Reiver charge. Genesis Sheridan had second-most on the team with 9 kills. Leah Palensky, Bryn Stansberry and Reta Kotorman had double-digit digs with, 15, 12 and 11 each.
Kotorman led Iowa Western in assists as well with 21 as they won sets 25-14, 25-16, 25-13.
Iowa Western looks to wrap up the ICCAC Regular Season championship in two weeks when they face Indian Hills on Oct. 30.
Marshalltown faces Indian Hills on Oct. 23 in their final conference game of the season in hopes of winning their first Division I conference match ever.
Division II Conference Matches
DMACC (16-14; 5-2) def. Hawkeye (13-20; 3-4), 3-0
The DMACC Bears beat Hawkeye 25-16, 25-19, 25-21 on their way to their 5th conference victory on Wednesday night. The Bears player of the game went to Dorian Gray who finished with 10 kills and 18 digs and a .357 hitting percentage.
DMACC avenged their loss in last year's match with Hawkeye to even the lifetime series at 1-1. They have won four straight conference matches.
Hawkeye, in the clear to make one of the regional tournaments, will face off against Southeastern next week to determine the No. 6 seed. DMACC will play Ellsworth.
BOX SCORE
Northeast (15-14; 6-1) def. Southwestern (4-26; 1-6), 3-0
Northeast returned to their conference winning ways on Wednesday night after falling last week against NIACC. The Hawks took down Southwestern in straight sets to stay in the regional tournament host conversation.
Hannah Heppner was the scoring leader for the Hawks, posting 13 kills in 23 attacks and committing no errors, a .565 hitting percentage. The next highest scorer was Caitlin Orton who had six kills.
Josie Sanger had 17 digs and MaKayla Davidson had 12 digs and 12 assists.
Set scores ended 25-13, 25-13, 25-16.
Northeast's hosting fate may be decided next week as they host Iowa Central who is also 6-1. Southwestern invites Kirkwood to Creston.
#19 Kirkwood (21-12; 4-3) vs. Iowa Lakes (6-24; 1-6), 3-0
The Kirkwood Eagles won their second straight conference game beating Iowa Lakes in 3-0 match that had two competitive sets. Excluding a 25-9 second set, the Lakers held their own in the first and third, narrowly losing 25-23 and 25-22.
For the Eagles, they were led by Anna Gorsich who had 14 kills, a match-high. Olivia Richards had nine kills and Abbie Ericson had eight. For the Lakers, they were led in scoring by Lindsey Jensen who had seven kills and Ariel Bozonie who had six.
Jensen also had 15 digs, and Faith Marroquin had 22 for Iowa Lakes, a match-best. Defensively, the Eagles were led by Maranda Wheelock who had 20 digs and Richards and Gorsich who had 14 and 10 digs.
The assist leaders in the game were Kirkwood's Madi Wagaman who had 26 and Iowa Lakes' Mary Kelly who had 19.
With two matches to go, Kirkwood sits in 5th place and Iowa Lakes is holding on to 7th place, holding the tie-breaker over Southwestern.
Next up for Kirkwood is Southwestern, and for Iowa Lakes, they head to NIACC.
#20 NIACC (24-6; 6-1) def. Ellsworth (5-23; 0-7), 3-0
NIACC handled Ellsworth 3-0 on Wednesday night, staying in the conversation for hosting one of the two Region XI Tournaments. Each set was never in doubt for the Trojans as the closest set ended 25-14.
Kennedy Meister continued her dominant play, finishing the night with 13 kills for the Trojans while Alexa Loftus had eight. Kayla Lentz had 13 digs and Meister made it a double-double performance with 11 digs.
NJCAA Offensive Player of the Week Becca Steffen had 24 assists in her encore performance.
With two matches to go, NIACC will host Iowa Lakes next week before facing Iowa Central in what could determine the No. 1 overall seed on Oct 30.
Ellsworth must win one of their next two matches, first against DMACC next week or against Iowa Lakes on Oct. 30 to have a shot at playing in the regional tournament.
#14 Iowa Central (27-5; 6-1) def. Southeastern (19-15; 3-4), 3-1
In the only match that didn't result in a sweep, Iowa Central defeated Southeastern 3-1 in Fort Dodge. After winning the first five matches in straight sets, the Tritons are now 5-4 in their last nine sets in conference play.
The Tritons won the first set, 25-14, but were clipped in the second set 25-23 by the Blackhawks. However, they corrected in the third and fourth sets and won 25-18 and 25-14 to take the match.
The Tritons were led by big nights from Kealy Anderson and Amaya Finley who had 20 kills and 16 kills each. Both had double-doubles as well with Anderson ending with 14 digs, Finley with 10.
For the Blackhawks, their combination of Rachel Bingham and Rachel Malinowski had 26 kills -- however, on 87 total attacks and 13 errors resulting in a .149 hitting percentage. Bingham and Malinowski were equally as important defensively finishing with 21 and 18 digs. Melodee Schulte also had 18 digs for SCC.
Alesha Johnson led the night with 34 assists for Iowa Central while Jenna Saad had 26 for Southeastern.
Iowa Central will be tested as they head to Northeast next week in a battle of 6-1s. Southeastern and Hawkeye will break their tie at 3-4 in West Burlington.