STERLING, COLORADO

A trip to the Centennial State had Iowa Western Volleyball in Sterling, Colorado, the home of Northeastern Junior College.  The Reivers faced off against tourney host to begin their four-match stay.  A back and forth five-et thriller saw the Plainswomen of NJC come out victorious (25-23, 18-25, 25-21, 16-25, 10-15).  Kortlyn Henderson led the Reivers in kills with 19, followed by Genesis Sheridan and Gracie Teeter who each contributed 10.  Réka Kotormán led the Reivers with 44 assists and 14 digs. Libero Bryn Stansberry was in charge of the backcourt, the sophomore logged a career-high 25 digs in the disappointing loss.

The Reivers didn't have much time to dwell on the opening loss as Otero Junior College was next on the docket.  Another five-set thriller ensued, but this time IWCC came out victorious (25-15, 22-25, 25-21, 22-25, 15-11).  The team came out firing on all cylinders, easily taking the first set 25-15 and fighting off Otero's comeback bid.  In the victory, it was Henderson again who led the squad.  This time the Sophomore from Waco, Texas added 24 kills, hitting .426 in the process.  Fellow sophomore Kelsey Havel chipped in a double-double, with 13 kills and 16 digs.

Next up, Day 2 of the tournament as Snow College and Utah State University-Eastern await the Reivers from Sterling.

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