- No. 17 Bears upset No. 13 Illinois Central College in tournament opener
- DMACC also gets wins against Lincoln Land CC, McHenry County College and Lewis & Clark CC
- Bears face Western Iowa Tech on Oct. 15
The DMACC volleyball team ran its record to 18-10 after winning all four of its matches in the Heartland Tournament Oct. 10 and 11 at Normal, Ill.
The Bears, ranked 17th in the most recent Division II poll from the National Junior College Athletic Association (NJCAA), began tournament play with a 3-0 upset of 13th-ranked Illinois Central College (ICC) on Oct. 10 and then handed Lincoln Land Community College (LLCC) a 3-2 loss, also on Oct. 10.
DMACC continued its winning streak with 3-0 and 3-1 wins over McHenry County College (MCC) and Lewis & Clark Community College LCCC) respectively on Oct. 11.
The four wins extended the Bears' winning streak to five consecutive matches.
Sophomore Reagan Wheeler of Cedar Falls had nine kills and freshmen Ramsey Johnston of Chaska, Minn., and Brooklyn Lyftogt of Van Meter had eight kills apiece in DMACC's 25-19, 25-20, 25-17 win over ICC. The Bears hit .239 in the win, getting 36 kills from 117 attacks with eight hitting errors.
Johnston and sophomore Sydney Anderson of Marshalltown led DMACC in assists with 15 and 11 respectively and Anderson contributed three ace serves with Johnston and sophomores Riley Starkey of Rockford, Ill., and Lauren Sandvold of Cedar Falls getting two apiece. Sandvold topped DMACC in digs with 22 and freshman Indy Johnson of Clarion and Johnston added 15 and 11 respectively. Sophomore Danica Wrage of Waterloo came away with four block assists, and Johnston, sophomore Emma Liechti of Ankeny and freshman Avery Hasleiet of Center Point came away with three apiece.
Johnston had 16 kills and Wheeler added 10 to lead the Bears past LLCC by set scores of 25-23, 17-25, 25-21, 20-25, 15-7. Johnston hit .317 with her 16 kills coming from 41 attacks with three hitting errors and Wheeler hit .257, getting her 10 kills from 35 attacks with one hitting error. As a team, DMACC hit .161 with 45 kills from 180 attacks with 16 hitting errors.
Anderson topped the Bears in assists with 20 and Johnston, Wrage and Sandvold added two ace serves apiece. Sandvold led five players in double figures in digs with 30. Johnson added 17, Starkey had 15 and Anderson and Johnston finished with 14 and 13 respectively. Wrage led DMACC in blocks with three block assists.
Wheeler had 10 kills and Lyftogt added eight as the Bears handed MCC a 25-11, 25-17, 25-18 loss. Wheeler hit .400 with her 10 kills coming from 10 attacks with two hitting errors and Lyftogt hit .353 with her eight kills coming from 17 attacks with two hitting errors. As a team DMACC hit .205 with 32 kills from 88 attacks with 14 hitting errors.
Starkey topped the Bears in assists with 11 and Sandvold had a pair of ace serves to go with a team-leading 15 digs. Johnson came away with 14 digs and Wrage had three solo blocks and one block assists.
Wheeler's 16 kills and 10 apiece from Johnston and Lyftogt lifted DMACC took a 23-25, 25-20, 25-11, 25-8 decision over LCCC in its last match of the tournament. Wheeler hit .583 in the win with her 16 kills coming from 24 attacks with two hitting errors. Johnston and Lyftogt hit .381 and .242 respectively. As a team, DMACC hit .350 with 52 kills coming from 123 attacks with nine hitting errors.
Anderson and Johnston led the Bears in assists with 24 and 19 respectively and Johnston and Wrage added three ace serves apiece with Anderson getting two. Sandvold led the win in digs with 22 and freshman Kyleigh Turks of Franklin, Tenn., Johnson and Johnston added 15, 13 and 10 respectively. Wrage had four block assists and Johnston and Liechti added three apiece.
The DMACC volleyball team will face Western Iowa Technical Community College (WITCC) Oct. 13 at Sioux City. DMACC is 5-3 in Iowa Community College Athletic Conference (ICCAC) play. WITCC is 19-12 overall and 3-5 in the ICCAC.