DMACC VOLLEYBALL TEAM SPLITS TWO MATCHES IN TRITON INVITATIONAL
No. 18 Bears are 16-15 for the season
· DMACC drops a 3-2 decision to NDSCS
· Bears defeat 16th-ranked Neosho County CC 3-0
· DMACC is home to Central (Neb.) CC on October 20
The DMACC volleyball team is 16-15 overall after splitting two matches in the Triton Invitational October 16 at Fort Dodge.
The Bears, ranked 18th in the most recent Division II poll from the National Junior College Athletic Association (NJCAA), dropped a 3-2 decision to North Dakota State College of Science (NDSCS) in their first match and bounced back with a 3-0 win over No. 16 Neosho County Community College (NCCC) in their second match.
DMACC’s win over NCCC marked the second time this season the Bears have beaten the Panthers. They were 3-1 winners in the DMACC Invitational on Sept. 26.
Freshman Malia Clayburg of Coon Rapids had 16 kills and freshman Avery Hasleiet of Center Point added 11 in DMACC’s 25-18, 25-27, 17-25, 26-14, 10-15 loss to NDSCS. Clayburg hit .229 with her kills coming from 48 attacks with five hitting errors and Hasleiet hit .267, getting her kills from 30 attacks with three hitting errors.
Sophomore Kathryn Lukkarinen of Macomb, Ill., added eight kills behind a .304 hitting percentage. Those kills came from 23 attacks with one hitting error.
The Bears hit .239 in the loss, getting 57 kills from 176 attacks with 15 hitting errors.
Freshman Solé Sebree of El Paso, Texas, and sophomore Saige De Jong of Pella led DMACC in assists with 24 and 23 respectively and sophomore Indy Johnson of Clarion and freshman Kaylie Simons of Carroll had two service aces apiece.
Lukkarinen topped the Bears in digs with 27 and Simons added 26. Johnson and De Jong also reached double figures with 11 and 10 respectively. Sophomore Alli Sheldahl of Hubbard led DMACC in blocks with six block assists and freshman Cadence Hotz of Macomb, Ill., had five.
Lukkarinen’s 11 kills and 10 from Clayburg led the way in the Bears’ 25-17, 25-20, 25-19 win over NCCC. Lukkarinen hit .281 with her kills coming from 32 attacks with two hitting errors and Clayburg hit .500, getting her kills from 17 attacks with no hitting errors.
Sophomore Ramsey Johnston of Chaska, Minn., added seven kills and hit .357 with those kills coming from 14 attacks with two hitting errors.
DMACC hit .310 in the win, getting 44 kills from 113 attacks with nine hitting errors.
De Jong and Johnston topped the Bears in assists with 16 and 15 respectively and Johnston added four service aces. Simons was the DMACC leader in digs with 25. Lukkarinen collected 12 and Johnson come away with 11. Sheldahl and Hotz had five blocks apiece, each getting four block assists.
The DMACC volleyball team returns in play in the Iowa Community College Athletic Conference (ICCAC) Oct. 20 when the Bears are home to Central (Neb.) Community College (CNCC). Match time is 6 p.m. inside the DMACC gymnasium. DMACC is 6-4 in conference play. CNCC is 15-10 overall and 7-3 in the ICCAC.
