No. 13 NIACC falls to No. 8 Iowa Central

FORT DODGE - The ICCAC regular season title went to No. 8 Iowa Central.

The Tritons stopped No. 13 NIACC 3-1 Wednesday to gain the first seed for this weekend's NJCAA Region XI tournaments. Iowa Central won 25-13, 25-15, 23-25, 25-20.

Iowa Central, which won the league with an 8-1 mark, will host the NJCAA Region XI-A tournament on Saturday and Sunday. NIACC, which placed second in the league with a 7-2 record, will host the NJCAA Region XI-B tournament.

NIACC (30-9 overall) plays seventh-seeded Southeastern at 1 p.m. on Saturday in the NIACC gym.

In Wednesday's regular season title match, Iowa Central won the first two sets by 12 and 10 points, respectively. The Lady Trojans won the third set and played the Tritons tough in the fourth and final set.

"The environment in the gym was explosive," NIACC coach Chris Brandt said, "and it was amazing that we had our own crowd to support us.

"Our outcome wasn't what we wanted but we worked hard to finally find our tempo and we have to be proud of believing in our team."

NIACC, which had its seven-match winning streak snapped, was led by sophomore Kennedy Meister with 16 kills, 24 digs and two blocks. Freshman Becca Steffen had seven kills, 21 assists, 18 digs and three ace serves.

Also for the Lady Trojans, Bri Powers had 10 digs, Kayla Lentz had five assists and seven digs, Shelby Heston had five kills, 10 digs and three blocks, Alexa Loftus had three kills and five digs and Braylee Wood had three digs and three blocks.

NIACC notes: NIACC is seekings its second straight trip to the NJCAA Region XI-B title match ... The Lady Trojans dropped a 3-0 decision to Northeast CC in the regional finals in 2018 ... NIACC topped Southeastern 3-0 earlier this season in West Burlington.

NJCAA Region XI-B tournament

(At Mason City)

Saturday's matches

1 p.m. - (2) NIACC vs. (7) Southeastern

3 p.m. - (3) Northeast CC vs. (6) Hawkeye CC

Sunday's match

1 p.m. - Semifinal winners.

Note: At the regional tournaments, the highest-seeded champion earns an automatic bid to the NJCAA Division II national tournament Nov. 21-23 in Charleston, W.V. The lower-seeded champion moves to a district championship match at the NJCAA Region XVI champion on Nov. 9. The winner of the district match qualifies for the national tournament.

NIACC (30-9)