NIACC faces Northeast CC in NJCAA Region XI-B championship

October 28, 2018

NORFOLK, Neb. - The sixth-seeded NIACC volleyball team faces second-seeded Northeast CC at 1 p.m. Sunday in the NJCAA Region XI-B title match.

NIACC (23-14) upset third-seeded No. 18 Hawkeye CC 3-2 in Saturday's opening round of the regional tournament. The Lady Trojans won 25-17, 25-21, 24-26, 20-25, 15-10.

Northeast CC (18-13) swept seventh-seeded Southwestern 3-0 (25-19, 25-16, 25-12) in its opening round match on Saturday.

Northeast CC topped NIACC 3-0 (25-20, 25-17, 25-20) in a regular season match in Norfolk, Neb. on Oct. 3.

Northeast is led by Kalli Brester with 344 kills. Hannah Heppner is next in line with 288 kills.

Also for Northeast, Savannah Nelson leads the way with 1,078 assists. Gabriela Barbosa has 516 digs and Brester has 423 digs, Nelson has 43 ace serves and Heppner has 72 blocks.

In Saturday's tournament opener against Hawkeye CC, sophomore Hannah Wagner led the Lady Trojans with a career-high 32 kills to move her season total to 571. Wagner also added a career-best 27 digs.

Freshman Kennedy Meister had 19 kills with 25 digs. Meister now has 400 kills this season.

Top-seed Iowa Central takes on fourth-seed Kirkwood in the NJCAA Region XI-A championship match on Sunday in Fort Dodge. No. 7 Iowa Central topped eighth-seeded Southeastern 3-0 and No. 9 Kirkwood nipped DMACC 3-2 in the two matches in the Region XI-A tournament Saturday.

The highest-seeded champion advances to the NJCAA Division II national tournament.

The lowest seeded champion advances to host the NJCAA Region XVI champion in a district championship on Nov. 4 with the winner of that match advancing to the national tournament.

THE LAST TIME A NIACC PLAYER ...
Had at least 20 kills in a match: Hannah Wagner 32 vs. Hawkeye CC (10-27-18)
Had at least 15 kills in a match: Kennedy Meister 19 vs. Hawkeye CC (10-27-18)
Had at least 40 assists in a match: Sydney Roush 51 vs. Iowa Lakes (10-25-17)
Has at least 25 assists in a match: Ashley Groe 29 vs. Hawkeye CC (10-27-18)
Had at least 25 digs in a match: Connor Gauch 33 vs. Hawkeye CC (10-27-18); Hannah Wagner 27 vs. Hawkeye CC (10-27-18); Kennedy Meister 25 vs. Hawkeye CC (10-27-18)
Had at least 20 digs in a match: Connor Gauch 20 vs. Wartburg College JV (10-22-18)
Had at least 5 ace serves in a match: Kennedy Meister 5 vs. Grand View JV (9-24-18)
Had at least 5 blocks in a match: Sarah Kimberly 7 vs. Hawkeye CC (10-27-18)
 
NIACC'S INDIVIDUAL LEADERS
Assists - Sydney Roush 711, Ashley Groe 531.
Digs - Connor Gauch 638, Meister 558, Wagner 513.
Ace serves - Meister 51, Groe 46, Wagner 46.
Blocks - Sarah Kimberly 103, Wagner 68, Meister 66.