Clarksville, TN – The 14^th seeded Indian Hills Volleyball squad secured one of its biggest wins at the national tournament in program history as the Warriors knocked off third-seeded New Mexico Military Institute in straight sets on Wednesday. With the win, the Warriors advance to the quarterfinal round on Thursday afternoon.

The Warriors handled the Broncos from start-to-finish on Wednesday in one of their most impressive all-around efforts of the 2024 campaign, winning by set scores of 25-22, 25-22, and 25-23. Competing in the program's sixth national tournament in school history, the win proved to be the Warriors' second all-time victory over a top-three seed, joining the 2004 program that defeated No. 2 seed Western Nebraska Community College.

Indian Hills will now head to the championship quarterfinal round for the fourth time in school history. The Warriors are set to take on No. 6 seed Barton Community College (KS) at 4:00 PM on Thursday at the Dunn Center on the campus of Austin Peay University.

INDIAN HILLS COMPLETES THE UPSET SWEEP��@IHCCAthletics knocks off New Mexico Military in the first SHOCKER of the day!������

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— NJCAA Network (@NJCAANetwork) November 20, 2024

Sophomore Sara Van Gisteren (Leuth, Netherlands/Young Talent Academy ROC Nijmegen) re-wrote the Indian Hills record books once again as the outside hitter connected on 15 kills to set the new single season kills record with 624 this season. Van Gisteren's total surpasses Karie Downing's 617 kills set in 2008.

The Warrior offense overpowered New Mexico Military throughout the day on Wednesday. The Broncos entered the national tournament with one of the top defenses in the nation, but the Warriors were able to attack early and often in each of the three set victories to run away for the program's 13^th all-time win at the national tournament.

Indian Hills gained momentum early on in the first set thanks to a service ace from Van Gisteren to even the frame at 10-all. A series of three consecutive points from freshman Piper Nelson (Atkins, IA/Benton) pushed the Warriors while a pair of late service aces from Aleksandra Oles (Tomaszów Lubelski, Poland/1 LO Tomaszów Lubelski) proved to be the difference maker in the opener.

The Warriors built an early 10-5 lead in the second set before the Broncos rallied to take a lead of their own. Van Gisteren responded with back-to-back service aces to put Indian Hills back on top, a lead they would not relinquish the rest of the way as Nelson finished off the set with a kill.

Another fast start in set three saw Indian Hills take a commanding 10-4 advantage. The Warriors held off a series of late rallies from the Broncos to keep the sweep within reach. Leading by just one, 24-23, the Warriors went back to Van Gisteren once more as the sophomore put home her final kill of the match to close out the victory.

Van Gisteren is now just 14 kills shy of setting the career school record for kills as the outside hitter's 1,077 kills trail only Marianna Rodrigues' (2018-19) 1,090 kills. Van Gisteren added a team-high four service aces in the win to move into fourth-place on the all-time aces list at Indian Hills with 140.

Sophomore Ana Carolina Westerich (Blumenau, Brazil/Colégio Energia), making her second appearance at the national tournament, set the Warriors up for success throughout the duration of the match as the setter finished with 30 assists. In five career matches at the national tournament, Westerich has now tallied 169 assists, an average of 33.8 per match.

The Indian Hills defense used its height advantage at the net to keep the Broncos off balance throughout the day. The Warriors tied a season-high with 14 block assists, led by a career-high five from Joanna Pawlik (Lublin, Poland/Nauczycieli Tajnego Nauczania), four from Luana Silva Ferreira (Guimaraes, Portgual/Martins Sarmento), and three from Daniela De Los Santos Castillo (Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic/Colegio los Clavelines).

Pawlik added eight kills in 23 attempts for the Warriors while Nelson finished the day with six kills

The Warriors will match up with Barton for the second time this season after the Cougars took a 3-1 victory on September 14 in Sterling, CO. Barton defeated 11^th seeded Navarro College (TX) in straight sets on Wednesday.

FOLLOW LIVE

All matches at the national championship will air live via the NJCAA Network with single-game and/or tournament-pass purchases required. GoHillsTV, the official streaming platform of Indian Hills Community College will be on-site to provide an audio-only broadcast, free of charge: GoHillsTV Facebook

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