NIACC drops pair at Heartland CC Invite

NORMAL, Ill. - The NIACC volleyball team dropped a pair of matches Friday at the Heartland CC Invitational.

No. 5 (NJCAA Division II) Parkland College topped the Trojans 3-0 (25-11, 25-12, 25-15). The University of St. Francis junior varsity downed the Trojans 3-0 (25-20, 26-24, 25-22).

"Despite the outcome on the scoreboard, the successes we saw (Friday) can't be measured by the single score," NIACC coach Chris Brandt said. "We knew switching to this tournament would mean playing the best of the best, which will allow us to develop and grow faster."

NIACC sophomore Jaida Hansen had 11 kills, seven digs and four blocks. Freshman Addison Tabbert had eight kills, 29 digs, three assists and two ace serves and Kennedy Schwiesow had 28 digs, three assists and one ace serve.

Also for the Trojans, Abbie Hyde had 16 digs and one ace serve, Alicia Machacek had five kills, three digs and one block, Ellie Hanna had nine kills, five digs and five blocks.

NIACC's Emily Opstvedt had 13 assists, 11 digs, three kills and three assists, Iwalani Beltran had 29 assists, 14 digs and one ace serve and Zhane Singer had nine kills and two blocks.

"(Friday) we saw moments of unleashed potential," Brandt said, "so we need to continue to string those moments together."

NIACC (8-10 overall) returns to action Saturday at the Heartland CC Invitational. The Trojans face No. 8 (NJCAA Division II) Madison College at 10 a.m. and host No. 7 (NJCAA Division II) Heartland CC at noon.

"(Saturday) we get the chance to face two more top 10 teams," Brandt said, "and we are excited to face those challenges together as a team."