DMACC VOLLEYBALL TEAM WINS THREE OF FOUR MATCHES IN HEARTLAND TOURNAMENT

No. 14 Bears improve to 15-13 for the season

· DMACC defeats Lincoln Land CC, McHenry County CC and Lewis & Clark CC

· Bears lose to Rock Valley CC

· DMACC faces fourth-ranked Iowa Central CC on October 14

The DMACC volleyball team, ranked 14th in the most recent Division II poll from the National Junior College Athletic Association (NJCAA), ran its record to 15-13 after winning three of four matches in the Heartland Tournament Oct. 9 and 10 at Normal, Ill.

The Bears dropped a 3-1 decision to Rock Valley Community College (RVCC) in their first match on Oct. 9 but bounced back with a 3-0 win over Lincoln Land Community College (LLCC) later in the day. DMACC defeated McHenry County Community College (MCCC) and Lewis & Clark Community College (LCCC) by 3-0 and 3-2 scores respectively on Oct. 10.

Freshman Malia Clayburg of Coon Rapids had eight kills and freshman Sydney Blackmore of Holstein added six as the Bears dropped a 23-25, 25-21, 16-26, 17-25 decision to RVCC. Clayburg hit .333 with her eight kills coming from 24 attacks with no hitting errors and Blackmore hit .238, getting her six kills from 21 attacks with one hitting error.

As a team, DMACC hit .140 with 31 kills from 136 attacks with 12 hitting errors.

Sophomores Saige De Jong of Pella and Ramsey Johnston of Chaska, Minn., led DMACC in assists with 13 and 10 respectively and sophomore Indy Johnson of Clarion led four players in double figures in digs with 19. Johnston came away with 18 and sophomore Kathryn Lukkarinen of McComb, Ill., and freshman Kaylie Simons of Carroll had 15 and 14 digs respectively. Blackmore finished with 13. Freshman Cadence Hotz of McComb, Ill., topped the Bears in blocks with five, including three block assists.

Lukkarinen’s nine kills and seven from Johnston led the way in a 28-26, 25-7, 25-17 win against LLCC. Lukkarinen hit .571 with her kills coming from 14 attacks with one hitting error.

The Bears hit .226 in the win, getting 28 kills from 84 attacks with nine hitting errors.

Johnston and De Jong led the way in assists with 12 and 11 respectively and Johnston contributed eight service aces. Johnson and Johnston topped DMACC in digs with 14 and 10 respectively and Hotz came away with eight blocks, including seven block assists. Blackmore added five block assists.

Clayburg’s 10 kills, seven from Lukkarinen and six by Blackmore lifted the Bears to a 25-19, 25-22, 25-20 win over MCCC. Clayburg hit .320 with her 10 kills coming from 25 attacks with two hitting errors. Lukkarinen and Blackmore hit .467 and .267 respectively. Lukkarinen got her seven kills from 15 attacks with no hitting errors and Blackmore’s six kills came from 15 attacks with two hitting errors.

The Bears hit .265 in the win, getting 35 kills from 102 attacks with eight hitting errors.

Johnston and freshman Solé Sebree of El Paso, Texas, led DMACC in assists with 14 apiece and Johnston added three service aces. Johnson topped the Bears in digs with 14 and De Jong and Blackmore finished with nine and eight respectively. Hotz added four blocks, including three block assists.

DMACC rallied from a 2-1 deficit to beat LCCC 24-26, 25-17, 17-25, 25-22, 15-7 in the Bears’ final match of the tournament. Lukkarinen led the way with 10 kills, Clayburg added seven, Johnston finished with six and sophomore Alli Sheldahl of Hubbard and freshman Lacey Taylor of Oskaloosa had five apiece. Johnston was DMACC’s top hitter with a .385 percentage, getting her six kills from 13 attacks with one hitting error. Lukkarinen hit .281 with her 10 kills coming from 32 attacks with one hitting error.

DMACC hit .189 in the win, getting 45 kills from 169 attacks with 13 hitting errors.

De Jong and Sebree came away with 19 and 15 assists respectively and De Jong added four service aces with Johnson getting three. Simons led four players in double figures in digs with 28. Lukkarinen added 19, Johnson had 17 and De Jong finished with 11. Sheldahl had five block assists and Hotz had four blocks, including two block assists.

The DMACC volleyball team, 6-3 in Division II of the Iowa Community College Athletic Conference (ICCAC), will face fourth-ranked Iowa Central Community College Oct. 14 inside the DMACC gymnasium. Match time is 6 p.m. The Tritons are 24-2 overall and are tied with Kirkwood Community College (KCC) for the lead in the ICCAC at 9-0. They have won their last seven matches.