The No.2 ranked Reiver Volleyball team continues their winning streak after defeating 5 teams in the last week. This past weekend, Iowa Western hosted their annual 'Reiver Festival Tournament' welcoming teams from Kansas, Nebraska, Iowa and New York. On Friday, the Reivers took on Independence CC winning in straight sets (25-13, 25-14 and 25-10). Scoring 44 kills as a team, the Reivers kept their efficiency high by only making 8 errors. Sophomore Caitlyn Cooper contributed with 12 kills, while Morgan Bossler and Irina Alekseeva added 11 and 8 kills respectively. Setters, Kaci Hohenthaner registered 28 assists, while Hina Pua'a was second with 8 assists. The defense remained fairly even as Emi Pua'a and Ariana Macies picked 6 digs each while Cooper, Savannah Downing, and Hohenthaner registered 5 each. Sophomore Isabel Hinkeldey put up a wall by tallying 2 total blocks for the match.
Later that day, the Reivers dominated Highland CC in a three-set match (25-15, 25-6 and 25-14). Setter, H. Pua'a controlled the game by scoring 4 service aces, 29 assist and 10 digs. The offense was led again by Cooper and Alekseeva who scored 22 out of the 39 team-total kills. The Reivers defended their side of the net by throwing up 17 blocks; Maklayla Doyle (5) and Bossler (4) contributed with 9 of them. The libero, E. Pua'a, tallied 14 digs.
On Saturday, the Reivers defeated Monroe College in a more challenging match (25-21, 26-24 and 25-11). The Mustangs came out determined to fight, but their efforts were exhausted after the second set. H. Pua'a distributed 39 assists, helping Alekseeva put down a team high 15 kills (.522). Cooper added 12 kills (.385). The Reivers remained scrappy through the match, collecting 54 digs as a team. Cooper contributed with 15 of them, while E. Pua'a and Macies added 10 and 9 respectively.
The Reivers finished the weekend with Colby CC. In a quick match of three-sets, the Reivers dominated the Trojans (25-18, 25-7 and 25-7). The offense was led once again by Alekseeva (14) and Cooper (9) who combined for over half of the kills. H. Pua'a had her second double-double of the weekend by tallying 31 assists and 17 digs. Second on the team with digs was Macies with 15.
Last night, Iowa Western hosted their final home match of the regular season against Northeast. After recognizing 6 outstanding sophomores on their final outing (Hinkeldey, Hohenthaner, E. Pua'a, Cooper, Verzani and Doyle) the Reivers managed to stay focused throughout the match, defeating the Hawks for the second time in straight sets (25-11, 25-19 and 25-14). Sophomores, Verzani (9), Cooper (14) and Doyle (8) combined 31 of the total 50 kills the Reivers. Emi Pua'a led the defense with 15 digs while Cooper followed with 13. In addition, Doyle had a season high 7 blocks while Cooper helped out with 4.
The Reivers (26-1) will hit the road on Thursday to travel to Jefferson College for a two day tournament, which begins with Vincennes at 4pm.
