Hodges Fieldhouse will be the site for the Region XI-A Volleyball Tournament for second-ranked Iowa Central beginning Saturday.

The Tritons, who put the finishing touches on a fourth consecutive regular season Div. II title with a sweep over North Iowa Area on Wednesday, will face the Trojans at 1 p.m. 

Iowa Central went a perfect 9-0 in conference matches. 

In the other semifinal, Des Moines Area faces off with Southeastern at 3 p.m. The winners meet on Sunday at 1 p.m.

After placing a program-best third at nationals in the spring, the Tritons would punch another ticket to the elite field with a pair of wins. The Region XI-B tourney takes place in Waterloo with Hawkeye serving as the host.

Hawkeye plays Iowa Lakes and Kirkwood meets Northeast. 

Home has been good to Iowa Central over the past few years, as they claimed a regional title in the spring. The Tritons are 41-4 in their last 45 matches played at Hodges Fieldhouse, including a straight-set win over then-No. 1 Parkland earlier this year.

Katilyn Steffes leads the team with 416 kills while Brooke Dobson has 312, Angel Baylark 306, Jori Hajek 270 and Haley Alharithy 245. Baylark has a team-high 142 blocks with Alharithy right behind with 137.

Alesha Johnson, the reigning league player of the year, has 1,390 assists, 67 blocks, 58 kills and 55 aces. Hajek also has 38 blocks and 43 aces while Baylyn Johnson has 600 digs. 

The highest-seeded champion from the two brackets automatically qualifies for nationals, which are November 18-20 in Cedar Rapids. The lower-seeded winner plays in the North Central B district championship against the Region 16 champion on Saturday, November 6. 

-By Dana Becker