Council Bluffs, IA – The No. 4 nationally ranked Indian Hills Volleyball squad is set to open its 2023 season this weekend at the Reiver Classic on the Iowa Western Community College campus.
DETAILS: 2023 Reiver Classic
August 18-19 | Council Bluffs, IA | Reiver Arena
IHCC SCHEDULE
- Friday, August 18
- Jefferson – 2:00 PM
- Dodge City – 6:00 PM
- Saturday, August 19
- No. 6 Western Nebraska – 11:00 AM
- No. 17 Butler – 1:00 PM
LIVE VIDEO: Reiver Sports Network
FIRST SERVE
The Indian Hills Volleyball squad, ranked No. 4 in the National Junior College Athletic Association (NJCAA) DI Volleyball Preseason Poll, opens up the 2023 season with four matches at the annual Reiver Classic. The Warriors are coming off a fourth-place finish at the 2022 national championship after finishing the season with 42 victories.
The Warriors return seven individuals from last year's record-breaking season while head coach Lyndsey Michel welcomes eight freshman. Michel, the all-time winningest Indian Hills coach, is set to kick off her 12th season at the helm of the Warriors.
SOPHOMORE LEADERSHIP
The Warriors return an experienced group of sophomores who played key roles on last year's Final Four run. Kinga Michalska returns after leading the Warriors in kills last year with 429 while Larissa Scatamburlo ranked third overall with 381 kills. Sasha Vidal, the tema's primary libero, ranked second in the nation with 933 digs.
Indian Hills also returns upperclassmen Kiley Heller, Maggie Paiva, Vitoria Dias Silva, and Emme Wilson who will look to make an impact and provide key leadership to the program.
MICHEL'S NOTES
"Super excited to see these sophomores in their leadership role this year. They're being great leaders in practice and I'm excited to see what they can accomplish this weekend. I'm excited to see these freshman put together what we've been anticipating throughout the preseason.
Jefferson is going to be a very young but scrappy team so I think that'll be a really nice test for us to get things started. Western Nebraska is always a solid team and well-coached. It'll be a pretty big test to see where we're at and what we need to work on to be successful this year."
SCOUTING THE VIKINGS
A familiar foe to the Warriors, Indian Hills opens the weekend against Jefferson College (MO), a perennial Midwest District opponent. The Warriors went 3-0 against Jefferson last year while both teams advanced to the NJCAA Midwest A District Tournament. The Vikings, who went 18-15 last year, most recently advanced to the NJCAA National Tournament in 2021.
In the three matches last year, Scatamburlo averaged 11.3 kills per match while Michalska averaged 9.3 kills per match.
Indian Hills has won 18 out of the last 27 matchups vs. Jefferson.
SCOUTING THE CONQUISTADORS
The Warriors and Dodge City have met just once in program history – a 3-1 victory for the Conquistadors on September 3, 2010. Dodge City enters the year under first-year head coach Erin Mellinger who previously won back-to-back NJCAA National Championships at Blinn College (TX) in 2013 and 2014.
Dodge City, who is coming off a 22-9 record last year while advancing to the NJCAA Region VI semifinals, is ranked fifth in the preseason NJCAA Region VI Coaches Poll. The Conquistadors return just one player – Jatnna Pena, an All-Region Honorable Mention selection from a year ago.
Dodge City opens up the weekend against host Iowa Western before taking on the Warriors.
SCOUTING THE COUGARS
Indian Hills will face its first nationally ranked opponent of the year when the Warriors square off with No. 6 Western Nebraska on Saturday. The Cougars, who went 34-5 last year, finished sixth at last year's NJCAA National Tournament.
The Cougars, under ninth-year head coach Binny Canales return five sophomores from a year ago, including the team's top setter and returning first-team All-American Shanelle Martinez who ranked third nationally last year with 1,399 assists.
Saturday's matchup will be the first of two meetings this year between the two perennial national contenders. The two teams have met just five times since 2010 with the Warriors taking four of five, including a win in each of the last two seasons. The Warriors knocked off then-No. 5 Western Nebraska 3-2 on September 9 in Sterling, CO last year.
SCOUTING THE GRIZZLIES
The Warriors' second ranked foe of the weekend, Butler enters the weekend No. 17 in the national polls and ranked No. 1 in the Kansas Jayhawk Community College Conference (KJCCC) West Division I Coaches Poll. Under sixth-year head coach Lisa Lechtenberg, Butler went 25-12 last season, advancing to the NJCAA Region VI Championship match.
Butler returns three individuals from last year's squad, including Greta Santini and Sydney Lentz who combined for 152 kills on the year.
Indian Hills went 2-0 vs. Butler last year, dropping just one set along the way. The Grizzlies own a 3-2 all-time record vs. the Warriors dating back to 2010.
WHAT'S NEXT
The Warriors return to Ottumwa set for the team's home opener at 6:00 PM on August 22 at the Hellyer Center against Des Moines Area Community College.
Single-match and season tickets are now on sale and can be purchased online: INDIAN HILLS VOLLEYBALL TICKETS
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