Heppner and Brester lead Northeast over Hawkeye in crucial ICCAC match
NORFOLK, Neb. – The No. 20-ranked Northeast Community College volleyball team put together one of its best matches of the season Wednesday night, defeating No. 11 Hawkeye Community College in three sets (25-13, 25-13 and 26-24) in front of a packed gymnasium at the Cox Activities Center in Norfolk.
NORFOLK, Neb. – The No. 20-ranked Northeast Community College volleyball team put together one of its best matches of the season Wednesday night, defeating No. 11 Hawkeye Community College in three sets (25-13, 25-13 and 26-24) in front of a packed gymnasium at the Cox Activities Center in Norfolk.
The Hawks (16-11, 7-1 ICCAC) cruised over the RedTails in the first two sets, recording 20 kills to only five errors. In the third set, it was a back-and-forth affair from the beginning. The Hawks used its powerful offensive threat to close out the set to secure home-court advantage for the ICCAC Tournament in two weeks.
"Tonight the girls showed up and played like they can," head coach Amanda Schultze said. "I am very proud of them for taking care of business tonight. We passed pretty well and served very well, with just one missed serve. When things got close in the third set, we definitely sat back and played safe and that is when we made our errors. We need to work on staying aggressive no matter what, because that's when we are our best."
Kalli Brester (Howells, Neb.) and Hannah Heppner (Stanton, Neb.) led the Hawks in kills with 12 each. Brester added 19 digs and two ace-serves, while Heppner had two blocks. Savannah Nelson (Wakefield, Neb.) pitched in 40 assists and 13 digs. Gabriela Barbosa (Rio de Janeiro, Brazil) added 20 digs.
Northeast travels to Columbus, Neb., to take on Indian Hills Community College and Central Community College beginning at 4 p.m. Thursday.
For all news related to Northeast Community College athletics, visit northeasthawks.com for complete coverage. Fans can also follow the Hawks on Twitter @NortheastHawks for game-day coverage.