Hutchinson, KS- On Friday, the Reivers kicked off the Blue Dragon Classic facing Missouri State- West Plains for second time in the season. In a three set match, the Reivers dominated the Grizzlies (25-11, 25-21 and 25-21). Iowa Western had a total of 42 kills with a hitting efficiency of .311 as a team. Caitlyn Cooper topped the offense with 11 kills, while Makayla Doyle and Irina Alekseeva followed with 9 each. Setter, Hina Pua'a, ran the offense with 39 assists. Defensively, the Reivers were led by defensive specialist Ariana Macies and libero Emi Pua'a with 9 digs each.
Later that evening, the Reivers had its 15 match win streak snapped with a five-set thriller against Navarro Community College (26-24, 25-22, 20-25, 23-25 and 15-17). Two players saw career highs; Hina Pua'a racked up 59 assists and Alekseeva added 25 kills. However, it wasn't enough to maintain the winning streak for the Reivers. Cooper and Doyle followed the lead with 18 and 10 kills respectively. The back court tallied 79 digs as a team, Cooper led with 22 while libero Pua'a had 17.
On Saturday, the Reivers remained resilient coming back with a sweep against Northeastern(22-25, 25-11 and 25-17). Iowa Western's offense was led by Ali Verzani, who hit .444 on 27 swings while Cooper added a double-double with 12 kills and 13 digs. Morgan Bossler put up a wall registering 3 blocks and 6 kills. Libero, Pua'a led the team once again in defense as she scooped up 16 digs.
The final match for the Reivers at the Blue Dragon Classic was against the host, Hutchinson Community College. Iowa Western forced the Blue Dragons to a fifth-set match after losing the first and third sets (22-25, 29-27, 14-25, 25-23, and 15-10). The Reivers' offense was led by Verzani with 17 kills, while Cooper and Alekseeva added 16 and 13 respectively. Emi Pua'a had a career high 0f 30 digs followed by Ariana Macies with 15. Doyle stayed fierce on the net setting up 4 blocks in addition to 11 kills.
Iowa Western returns to action this Wednesday against Central Community College.
