By: Dana Becker
Messenger Sports Staff
Katilyn Steffes, Sara Horn and several other members of national tournament qualifier Iowa Central were honored by the ICCAC for their volleyball efforts in 2022.
Steffes was named the conference player of the year, Horn earned coach of the year status, and Jori Hajek joined Steffes on the first team.
Brooke Dobson and Mercedes Madlock were named to the second squad, while Kira Matthias made the third team.
The Tritons claimed another league regular season championship and earned a third consecutive bid to the national tourney, where they placed seventh after defeating Kirkwood in their final match.
"Postseason honors are always a great reminder of how good our individual players are," Horn said. "The entire season, as well as the postseason, we are focused on how our team does and what we need to do for the team. While this is the most important thing, it is still important that we celebrate our individuals as well.
"Our team has 20 amazing players, and the five who were honored with all-conference and region awards have really stood out and have shown that they are among the best — not only in our conference, but in the country."
Steffes, a third-year player, leads the nation in kills with 713, kills per set with 5.37 and kill percentage at .311. The returning All-American had double-digit kill performances in every match but one this fall and went over 20 in 18 matches with a high of 32.
Steffes becomes the fourth Iowa Central player to secure the highest honor in the league, joining current assistant coach Gabby Sullivan, Amaya Finley and Alesha Johnson.
"You just can't say enough about KT," Horn said. "KT will leave here as our career kill leader, season kill leader, kills per set leader and have multiple entries into the most kills per match category. She is statistically the best attacker to ever play at Iowa Central, and that is saying a lot with the amazing players that have gone through this program.
"The amount of growth we've seen out of KT over the past three years has been amazing, and we are just so proud of not only all that she has accomplished, but of who she is as a person. We adore her and are so excited to see what she does after leaving Iowa Central."
Hajek, a sophomore from Humboldt, ranked 10th in the conference in total kills and sixth in digs with 561, which was tops among all non-liberos.
"Jori and KT were voted as the No. 1 and No. 2 players in our conference, and the coaches were spot on," Horn said. "As good as KT is in the front row, Jori is that good in the back. Add to her defense and passing skills her ability to contribute attacking and blocking, mixed in with her ability to be a top notch setter, and you have the most complete volleyball player in all of NJCAA. Jori is so, so fun to watch play, but she's even more fun to coach and to have a part of your team. This girl is and will be a star in anything she puts her mind to and we're so honored that we've gotten to have her as a part of our program the last two years.
"Brooke Dobson is our quiet killer. When teams focus all of their defensive efforts on KT, Brooke sneaks in there and throws in double digit kills on them. Brooke is such a great athlete who hits the ball high above the net and makes teams defend us from both pins. On any other team Brooke would be their kill leader, and she's a huge part of the reason we are as successful as we are. Brooke is one of our captains this year, and on top of her individual contributions, she's been a really great emotional leader for this team, and helps her teammates play better, which is such an invaluable contribution. We have loved having Brooke with us these last two years!"
"Mercedes had the impossible task of replacing the two time player of the year. Having that much pressure placed on a freshman is a task that not many would have wanted or been able to handle. But when I asked Mercedes if she was ready to take over our offense as a 5-1 setter, she didn't even hesitate to say, 'yes I am!' She has done a great job of handling the pressure of running a top 5 team's offense, and always asks what she can do better to help our hitters. Mercedes shines in big games, so I'm excited to see her run the show at the National Tournament, and excited to have her run this team for another year next season!"
"Kira is the type of player every single coach loves to have on their team. Team captain. A 4.0 student. Fantastic teammate. A leader on the court and off. A coach's kid who understands that it takes sacrifices and hard work to get what they want. A great athlete who's lightning fast and works extremely hard in the weight room. Our defense has been lights out for the past 6 weeks of the season, and she's a huge reason why. She is the perfect balance of a player who just reacts and works hard mixed with a player who analyzes plays that don't go well, and figures out the answer with great questions and conversations. She has been a huge joy to coach these past two seasons, and I think her best volleyball is still in front of her!"
Horn earned the Div. II league coach of the year title for a fifth consecutive season. Iowa Central has won 25 straight conference matches over Div. II opponents. They were 36-7 overall and ranked fifth in 2022.
"Coach of the year award is really a program award," Horn said. The coach who wins coach of the year has the best team and the best staff, and that is what we have here at Iowa Central. I am blessed to be around incredible athletes every day. I have the best assistant in the country in Gabby Sullivan. And I have an amazing administration and support staff that makes doing my job easy.
"We are surrounded by excellence every day here with the other athletic teams, top notch performing arts programs and faculty and staff who love their jobs. Iowa Central is really the best place to work, and I am so thankful to be here."
Hajek and Steffes were named first team all-Region XI-A, while Dobson, Matthias and Madlock made the second. Matthias, Dobson, Hajek and Steffes made the all-region tournament squad, with Steffes being named tourney MVP.
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