NIACC improves to 4-0

Team Stats

August 25, 2019

ROCKFORD, Ill. - The NIACC volleyball team remained perfect on the young season with two victories at the McHenry County College Invitational on Saturday.

NIACC improved its record to 4-0 with a 3-1 win (25-13, 22-25, 25-13, 25-21) over Oakton Community College and a 3-2 win (25-20, 25-18, 17-25, 13-25, 15-6)over Grand Rapids CC.

"We started off a little slow with low energy but they definitely turned that around for our second match," NIACC coach Chris Brandt said. "Our defense made some unbelievable plays to keep us going throughout the tournament.

"More importantly, they team focused on our game and worked on lots of litle things along the way." 

The Lady Trojans are off to a 4-0 start for the first time since the 2016 season when they began the season with seven straight wins.

On Saturday, the Lady Trojans were led by sophomore Kennedy Meister with 24 kills and 31 digs. Sophomore Shelby Heston had 15 kills and seven digs.

Also for NIACC, Bri Powers had 16 digs and four ace serves, Kayla Lentz had 28 digs, Becca Steffens collected 57 assists and had 29 digs, seven kills and six ace serves, Alexa Loftus had 13 kills and six digs, Sarah Kimberly had seven kills and Braylee Wood had nine kills and eight blocks.

"The sophomore leadership during the preseason is a game changer," Brandt said, "and that made a positive impact, especially when we weren't playing to our potential."

NIACC returns to action Aug. 30-31 at Southeastern's Jimmy John Invitational in West Burlington.

Notes: Meister now has 468 career kills and 628 career digs ... Meister's 468 kills ranks 11th on the school's all-time career list ... Heston has 347 career kills (20th on school's career list) and 332 career digs.

NIACC (4-0)

NIACC 3, Kishwaukee College 0

NIACC 3, Madison College 1

NIACC 3, Oakton CC 1

NIACC 3, Grand Rapids CC 2

TEAM SEASON HIGHS
Kills - 58 vs. Madison College (8-23-19)
Assists - 45 vs. Madison College (8-23-19)
Digs - 72 vs. Grand Rapids CC (8-24-19)
Ace serves - 9, twice.
Blocks - 12 vs. Grand Rapids CC (8-24-19)
 
INDIVIDUAL SEASON HIGHS
Kills - Kennedy Meister 21 vs. Madison College (8-23-19)
Assists - Becca Steffen 38 vs. Madison College (8-23-19)
Digs - Becca Steffen 19 vs. Grand Rapids CC (8-24-19)
Ace serves - Becca Steffen 4 vs. Kishwaukee College (8-23-19)
Blocks - Braylee Wood 5 vs. Grand Rapids CC (8-24-19)
 
THE LAST TIME A NIACC PLAYER ...
Had at least 20 kills in a match: Kennedy Meister 21 vs. Madison College (8 -23-18)
Had at least 15 kills in a match: Kennedy Meister/Alexa Loftus 15 vs. Kishwaukee College (8-23-19)
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: Becca Steffen 38 vs. Madison College (8-23-19)
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: Braylee Wood 5 vs. Grand Rapids CC (8-24-19)
 
NIACC'S INDIVIDUAL LEADERS
Digs - Meister 55, Lentz 53, Steffen 48.
Ace serves - Steffen 12, Bri Powers 6, Meister 4.
Blocks - Braylee Wood 9, Sarah Kimberly 8, Meister 6.
 
NIACC CAREER KILLS LEADERS (1998-2019)

Hannah Wagner (2017-18) 859

Casey Spree (1998-99) 766

Kaylee Whittington (2015-16) 743

Rachael Spree (2000-01) 665

Leslie Junker (2000-01) 664

Amanda Kramer (2001-02) 647

Sarah Heineman (2007-08) 615

McKenzie Heue (2011-12) 576

Jayna Blome (2008-09) 560

Aubury Coleman (2015-16) 481

Kennedy Meister (2018) 468

Caitlyn Hanig (2013-14) 461

Natalie Meyer (1998-99) 412

Sammy Nelson (2010-11) 411

Jamie Swanson (1999-2000) 386

Samantha Pedersen (2009) 382

Lexy Nodtvedt (2012-13) 370

Karlie Niedert (2014-15) 359

Darcy Nelson (2011) 349

Shelby Heston (2017-18) 347