Capsules by Rick Capone, AVCA eservices publications editor
Iowa Western Defeats Missouri-West Plains
Sophomore outside hitter Juliana Paz pounded down 34 kills to lead sixth-seeded Iowa Western Community College over 11th-seeded Missouri State University-West Plains 30-26, 30-26, 27-30, 30-22 in first round action at the National Junior College Athletic Association Championships being held at the Mid-America Center in Council Bluffs, Iowa.
With the win, Iowa Western, the defending NJCAA Division I National Champions, improves to 57-3 and will face third-seeded Frank Phillips College at 6:30 p.m. Thursday night. Frank Phillips advanced by defeating 14th-seeded Casper College 3-0 in an earlier match 3-0.
Missouri-West Plains falls to 30-13 and will face Casper on Friday at 10 a.m.
"I thought we played well in runs," Iowa Western Head Coach Terry Gamble said after the match. "Especially the run in game one when we let them back in. Then the run in game four had me a little concerned. Overall, though, we played pretty well. We had two kids with 20-plus digs and two with digs in the 'teens, so we played pretty good defensively."
Along with her 24 kills, Paz scored a double-double as she also had 23 digs in the match. The Reivers sophomore middle blocker Julia Kenealy finished with 12 kills, while freshman outside hitter Jordeen Rademacher chipped in 11 kills. Freshman setter Meng Meng Xu dished out 67 assists and also had 11 digs. Sophomore libero Gabby Pfannenstiel led Iowa Western's defensive stand with 32 digs.
For the Grizzlies, sophomore middle blocker Patricia Gandolfo led the team with 23 kills, while sophomore middle blocker Brittney Herzog chipped in 13 kills and 12 digs. Freshman setter Amanda Kuhn handed out 50 assists, while also picking up 10 digs.
In the first game, Iowa Western started strong and opened up a 14-8 lead. Missouri-West Plains fought back throughout and finally closed the match to 28-26. However, two kills in a row by Kenealy closed out the first game 30-26.
The Grizzlies jumped out to an early 4-0 lead to start the second game, but Iowa Western stormed back to tie it 4-4. The game stayed close throughout with the teams swapping leads until Iowa Western opened up a big lead late in the game to make it 28-23. Missouri-West Plains closed the score to 29-26, but then a kill by Rademacher ended the game 30-26.
Game three saw Iowa Western open up an early 8-5 lead, but the Grizzlies climbed back and tied it at 10-10. Missouri-White Plains then opened up a 12-15 lead, only to see the Reivers work their way back to tie it 16-16. The Grizzlies finally took the lead for good at 27-26, and a few points later, sophomore outside hitter Lauren Noble gave Missouri-White Plains the game 30-27.
Iowa Western came out strong to open up a quick 7-2 lead in the fourth game. They continued to lead until 19-13, when Missouri-West Plains ran off a string of points and closed the game to 20-19. The teams battled back and forth, but the Reivers stayed one step ahead, opening up
another big lead, 26-21, on a kill by Paz. An ace by Meng Xu made it 28-21, and then two plays later Paz hit one down the middle to end the match 30-22.
Frank Phillips Defeats Casper
Third-seeded Frank Phillips College did not waste time in their opening match of the National Junior College Athletic Association Championships at the Mid-America Center in Council
Bluffs, Iowa on Thursday, defeating their first-round opponent, 14th seeded Casper College, 30-17, 30-20, 30-24.
The Plainsmen (41-1) now advance to face sixth-seeded Iowa Western Community College (57-3) at 6:30 p.m. Thursday night. Iowa Western advanced with a 3-1 win over 11th seeded Missouri Western University-White Plains (30-13). Casper (30-18) will face Missouri-West Plains at 10 a.m. on Friday.
Leading the way for Frank Phillips was sophomore right-side hitter Pamela Luiz with 12 kills, while freshman outside hitter Kayleigh Giddens added nine kills and freshman middle blocker Alexxa Roberts had eight. Sophomore setter Perla Faudoa led the Plainsmens attack with 28 assists.
Sophomore outside hitter Agata Dawidowicz led the Thunderbirds attack with 11 kills, while sophomore Maja Jechorek added 11 kills.
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