courtesy of The Daily Nopareil

COUNCIL BLUFFS, IA- Four matches, two nationally ranked opponents, four wins.

It was a busy weekend for the No. 3-ranked Iowa Western volleyball team at its Reiver Classic tournament.

The Reivers came back less than 24 hours after knocking off No. 4 Western Nebraska on Friday night to win two Saturday afternoon matches, bouncing Barton (Kan.) in three sets before grinding out a tight win over No. 12 Laramie County (Wyo.)

"We found out about our depth and handling adversity in that match against Laramie," said IWCC coach Alicia Williams, whose team fought back from a 23-22 deficit to win the first set 30-28.

"The end to the first set kind of flowed through the second set, and the third set was neck and neck," she said. "They're a good team."

The Reivers won without starting middle blocker Morgan Bossler, who injured her ankle in Saturday's first match. Irina Alekseeva pounded 17 kills and Kortlyn Henderson added 14.

In the win over Barton, IWCC did "a lot of different rotational stuff" and gave some reserves more playing time, the coach said.

Iowa Western 25 25 25

Barton 10 16 22

IWCC (kills-aces-blocks): Irina Alekseeva 11-0-0, Ariana Macies 0-4-0, Kelsey Havel 2-0-1, Genesis Sheridan 9-0-0, Annika Hufnagel 1-0-0, Brooklynn McCain 1-1-0, Beatriz Giordan 0-0-0, Erica Meyer 0-0-0, Savannah Downing 0-0-0, Alyssa Oswald 1-0-1, Isabela Sarti 0-0-0, Morgan Bossler 7-0-3

Digs: Downing 6, Alekseeva 3, Macies 15, Havel 6, Sheridan 1, McCain 3, Oswald 4. Set assists: Havel, Hufnagel 13.

Iowa Western 30 25 25

Laramie County 28 20 21

IWCC (kills-aces-blocks): Bryn Stansberry 0-0-0, Savannah Downing 0-0-0, Irina Alekseeva 17-1-1, Ariana Macies 0-1-0, Kelsey Havel 6-0-1, Genesis Sheridan 8-0-3, Brooklynn McCain 0-0-0, Beatriz Giordan 1-0-5, Isabela Sarti 0-0-0, Kortlyn Henderson 14-0-1, Hina Pua'a 1-1-2