No. 18 NIACC clips Southeastern, 3-2

The NIACC volleyball team wore their pink jerseys Sunday for Valentine's Day.
The NIACC volleyball team wore their pink jerseys Sunday for Valentine's Day.
February 14, 2021

WEST BURLINGTON - The No. 18 NIACC volleyball nipped Southeastern 3-2 in ICCAC action Sunday afternoon.

NIACC (4-3 overall, 4-3 in ICCAC) won 19-25, 25-19, 22-25, 25-10, 15-11.

"We are so  proud of the team effort," NIACC coach Chris Brandt said. "They started to believe in our process and and doing the little things we stress in the gym each time we step on the court."  

The Lady Trojans fell behind 2-1, but rolled to a 15-point win in set four and took the match with a 4-point win in the final set.

NIACC was led by freshman Grace Tobin with 26 kills, 15 digs, five assists and two blocks.

It is the third time this season that Tobin has collected at least 20 kills in a match. Tobin had a career-high 27 kills against Hawkeye CC on Jan. 26 and had 24 kills against Northeast CC on Jan. 28.

Sophomore Becca Steffen collected 36 assists, 13 kills, 11 digs and three ace serves. Sunday's match was the 10th time in Steffen's career that she had at least 30 assists.

Sophomore Bri Powers had 18 digs, 10 assists and two ace serves. Samantha Coron had 11 digs, six kills, seven assists and five ace serves.

Also for the Lady Trojans, Emily Wittnebel had 11 digs, Megan Hollander had three kills and four blocks, Emily Jacobson had eight kills, two blocks and two digs and Hannah Hanson had four kills and four blocks.

NIACC returns to action Tuesday at No. 5 Iowa Central (8-0, 7-0). The Tritons were idle on Sunday.

Notes: NIACC has won three straight matches against Southeastern, including one in the 2019 regional tournament ... NIACC coach Chris Brandt is 6-6 against Southeastern ... Steffen now has 1,142 career assists (7th on school's career list), 521 digs (15th on school's career list), 308 kills (23rd on school's career list) and 103 ace serves (5th on school's career list) ... Powers has 493 career digs (tied for 17th on school's career list) ... Hollander has 116 career blocks.

THE LAST TIME A NIACC PLAYER ...

Had at least 20 kills in a match: 26, Grace Tobin vs. Southeastern (2-14-21)
Had at least 40 assists in a match: 44, Becca Steffen vs. Northeast CC (1-28-21)
Has at least 25 assists in a match: Becca Steffen 36 vs. Southeastern (2-14-21)
Had at least 25 digs in a match: Kayla Lentz 28 vs. Northeast CC (11-3-19)
Had at least 20 digs in a match: Bri Powers 23 vs. Northeast CC (1-28-21)
Had at least 5 ace serves in a match: Samantha Coron 5 vs. Southeastern (2-14-21)
Had at least 5 blocks in a match: Emily Jacobson 6 vs. Northeast CC (1-28-31)