ROCKFORD, Ill. - The third-ranked Iowa Central volleyball team opened their season with a pair of convincing wins here Friday.

The Tritons swept Rock Valley (25-18, 25-20, 25-18) and downed No. 11 Grand Rapids (25-18, 25-18, 24-26, 25-17).

"It was a great start against two good teams," Iowa Central head coach Sara Horn said. "Our serve, defense and block were really good most of the day. Both Rock Valley and Grand Rapids have some big offensive weapons, but we were able to really slow them down with our defensive effort."

Katilyn Steffes, one of several returning regulars from season when Iowa Central finished third at nationals, recorded 13 kills with 10 digs in the opening match. Haley Alharithy had eight kills, Molly McCauley recorded six and both Brooke Dobson and Jori Hajek had five.

Bailey Dugan had 22 digs, Alesha Johnson posted 32 assists and 10 digs, and the Tritons (2-0 overall) had 11 block assists as a team. Michaelah Petrowiak had four to lead the way.

In the ranked battle with Grand Rapids, Steffes picked up 19 kills and 14 digs, Alharithy had nine kills, Dobson seven and Johnson six with 34 assists and eight digs.

Hajek had 21 digs, Dugan 14 and Petrowiak seven block assists.

"We're still figuring out our lineup and offensive systems, but I thought Alesha did a great job of moving the ball around and putting the right girls in the right spots," Horn said. "We have quite a bit more potential with our offense than what we showed, but overall, we're really happy with our start."

Iowa Central has two more matches here Saturday, playing Terra State at 10 a.m. and Waubonsee at 11:45 a.m. They open play at Hodges Fieldhouse Tuesday night vs. Briar Cliff JV.

-By Dana Becker