WARRIORS ADVANCE TO NATIONALS!
November 10, 2024
Belleville, IL – For the third consecutive year, the Indian Hills Volleyball team will compete at the National Junior College Athletic Association (NJCAA) DI Volleyball National Tournament as the Warriors took home the 2024 NJCAA DI Volleyball Midwest B District Championship. Indian Hills defeated Southwestern Illinois College 3-1 to punch its ticket to Clarksville, TN.
The Warriors dropped the opening set 25-23, but battled back to win the match with three consecutive set wins in dominant fashion – 25-17, 25-8, and 25-20. Indian Hills, who has posted back-to-back top-10 finishes at the national tournament, advances to its third consecutive national NJCAA National Tournament for the first time in program history, and sixth time overall.
The sophomore group comprised of six individuals become just the third group in program history to compete in two national tournaments after last year’s group collected a ninth-place finish. The 2022 team placed fourth overall.
Sophomore Sara Van Gisteren (Leuth, Netherlands/Young Talent Academy ROC Nijmegen) once again put together a remarkable performance to power the Warriors. Van Gisteren tallied 25 kills and a career-high eight service aces in the win for the Warriors. Van Gisteren, who totaled 49 kills in the two District tournament matches, moves into second-place on the single season kills leaderboard with 609 while also moving into fifth-place on the career services aces leaderboard at Indian Hills with 136.
Freshman Piper Nelson (Atkins, IA/Benton) collected her second consecutive double-double after posting 10 kills and 10 digs. Sophomore Daniela De Los Santos Castillo (Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic/Colegio los Clavelines) contributed 10 kills to go along with six total blocks, including two solo stops. Sophomore Jorja Hoffmann (Whiterock, British Columbia/Elgin Park) provided a spark off the bench for the Warriors with six kills on 12 attempts.
Sophomore Ana Carolina Westerich (Blumenau, Brazil/Colégio Energia) collected her eighth match of at least 50 assists on the year with 50 helpers for the Warriors. Westerich added two kills on three attempts with zero attacking errors as the setter has now committed just one attack error in her last 34 attempts to go along with 18 kills.
The Warriors, who have won eight consecutive matches heading into the national tournament, will learn their seed and opponent in the opening round on Wednesday afternoon at 12:00 PM via a live selection show on the NJCAA Network.
Indian Hills trailed early in the opening set but rallied down the stretch backed by consecutive aces from Castillo to tie the frame at 22-all. Southwestern Illinois prevailed in the closing points to take the early 1-0 lead.
Set two saw Van Gisteren take command from the get-go as the sophomore put home nine kills to go along with three service aces in the set. A late run from Southwestern Illinois was cut short as Van Gisteren tallied back-to-back aces for a 20-11 lead, an edge the Warriors carried the rest of the way to even the match at one.
Indian Hills got off to a fast start in the third set and eventually built a double-digit lead to pull away for a commanding 2-1 lead. Southwestern Illinois threatened in the early goings of set four, but the Warriors slowly built a comfortable lead as Nelson put a home late kill to end the threat. Luanna Ferreira (Guimaraes, Portgual/Martins Sarmento) finished the match off with the game-winning kill as the Warriors stormed the court to celebrate.
Indian Hills heads to the postseason with a 12-7 all-time record at the national tournament, including six wins over the last two seasons. With the win, the Warriors earn one of 12 automatic bids to the tournament to go along with four at-large selections. The national tournament is set for November 20-23 at the Dunn Center at Austin Peay State University.
