Sep 5, 2024
By: Dana Becker, The Messenger Sports Reporter
For the past several seasons, the ICCAC crown has rested with the Iowa Central volleyball team.
And the 11th-ranked Tritons showed Wednesday night that remains the same.
Iowa Central scored a sweep over Western Iowa Tech here inside Hodges Fieldhouse in the conference opener.
Scores were 25-21, 25-19 and 25-16.
The Tritons (6-2 overall, 1-0 in league) have now won 68 of their last 75 league matches dating back to 2017. During that span, they are 233-50 overall and 93-12 at home.
Emily Goodner and Talya Sampson led the way with 10 kills each, Brooke Lensing added seven and Araya Garrison had five. Goodner, a sophomore from Manson, added 13 digs and two block assists.
"We knew WIT was going to be an experienced team because they returned all of their players from a season ago," ICCC head coach Sara Horn said. "It's a very good group and it took us a little while to get going."
The Comets, in just their second season of existence, jumped out to an early 6-3 lead before a five-point rally by the Tritons. From there, the two would exchange points before Iowa Central put WIT (4-5, 0-1) away by winning nine of the final 15 points of the set.
"With our new offense, it takes us a little while to get the tempo down," Horn said. "You saw that once again. But we're learning and it's starting to come together."
The Tritons gained some breathing room in the second behind three consecutive aces by Garrison to make it 12-9, holding the lead throughout the remainder of the set. They would finish the Comets off on a 6-2 run that included back-to-back aces by Dani Anela Kapu.
Kapu, one of the two setters with Anabel Seaman, had 16 assists and eight digs while Seaman added 19 and seven. Olivia Benson had nine digs with Olivia Sturgis and Dena Robb each recording four kills.
With the chance to put WIT away, Iowa Central raced out to a 13-7 advantage in the third. They would keep the Comets at bay before tallying 11 of the final 16 points.
Up next for the Tritons will be their first home invitational of the year, as they battle Neosho County and No. 24 Kansas City-Kansas on Friday before facing 15th-ranked Rock Valley and Rochester Tech Saturday afternoon.
"It was great to have a tough match like this ahead of this weekend," Horn said. "We haven't seen ranked competition since our first invite of the year and it was definitely eye-opening for the girls."
Full article at: https://www.messengernews.net/sports/local-sports/2024/09/iccac-dominance/