JUCO volleyball: Warriors drop three of four at Odessa Invite
Aug. 28—ODESSA, Tx. — The fourth-ranked Indian Hills Volleyball team dropped a pair of matches Friday night at the Odessa Invitational. The Warriors fell 3-1 to both No. 20 Navarro and Odessa College.
Indian Hills fell to 5-5 on the year after splitting a pair of matches on Saturday. After sweeping Hill College 25-16, 26-24, 25-23, the Warriors dropped their final match in Texas 25-23, 25-21 and 25-11 to the eighth-ranked New Mexico Military Institute.
The Warriors dropped its opening set to 4-0 Navarro 25-20 before rallying for a 25-13 win in the second frame. Indian Hills battled through a pair of hard-fought sets, but ultimately the Bulldogs stole the final two sets 25-23 in each.
In the nightcap, the Warriors fell behind 2-0 through the opening two sets against undefeated 6-0 Odessa before rallying for a third set victory 25-23. The Wranglers edged Indian Hills in the fourth and final set, 25-18.
Freshman Sara Van Gisteren totaled a team-high 19 kills in the opening loss to Navarro. The outside hitter posted a .395 hitting percentage on 38 swings against the Bulldogs. Van Gisteren added a team-best 14 kills in the nightcap against Odessa.
The freshman has now posted at least 12 kills in seven of the team's eight matches this season. Van Gisteren added 15 total digs on the afternoon as well.
Sophomore Kinga Michalska posted 12 kills in the loss to Odessa after totaling nine kills against Navarro. Freshman Ana Carolina Westerich posted 54 assists combined between the two matches, including 33 against Navarro.
Sabrina Nogueira Da Silva anchored the defense with 37 total digs on the afternoon. Nogueira Da Silva has posted double-digit kill totals in each of the team's previous four matches.
After playing six matches in the span of five days, Indian Hills will be off until making a trip to West Burlington on Tuesday, Sept. 5. The Warriors will head Loren Walker Arena to face Southeastern.
