By: Dana Becker

Messenger Sports Staff 

CEDAR RAPIDS — For the third consecutive season, Sara Horn has her Iowa Central volleyball team set to compete for a national title.

The Tritons received the No. 4 seed and will face Gulf Coast State here on Thursday inside the Alliant Energy Powerhouse at 3 p.m.

Each of the past two trips for Iowa Central (34-5 overall) have resulted in semifinal round appearances, as they placed fourth last year and third the season before. This is the eighth time the program has qualified for nationals.

"The seeding selection show was exciting this year. We knew there could be some variation from the last set of rankings because a couple teams had lost," Horn said. "We knew Gulf Coast was a possibility and it's always exciting to play a new team that you've never seen before."

Leading the way for the Tritons is sophomore sensation Katilyn Steffes, as the reigning ICCAC player of the year ranks among the national leaders with 713 kills. She also has 493 digs and 62 serving aces.

Fellow sophomore Jori Hajek, a former Humboldt standout, was in the running for league honors after registering 348 kills with 561 digs, 64 assists and 41 aces. Brooke Dobson, another player back from last year, has 356 kills.

Mercedes Madlock has replaced Alesha Johnson in running the offense, racking up 1,238 assists with 325 digs and 57 kills.

Over the past two seasons, the Tritons have won 76 matches — the second-most in program history for that time span. Since a loss in the 2019 regional final, Iowa Central has gone 98-12, including a 41-4 mark at home.

During a current 16-match win streak, the Tritons have knocked off then-No. 1 Cowley County and Kirkwood.

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