Clarksville, TN – The Indian Hills Volleyball team saw its season come to a close on Saturday afternoon as the 14th seeded Warriors fell to No. 8 seed Utah State Eastern University 3-1 in the 7th place match at the 2024 National Junior College Athletic Association (NJCAA) DI Volleyball National Championship.
Making its sixth all-time appearance at the national tournament, the Warriors placed eighth overall to finish within the top-10 for the third consecutive year. Utah State Eastern took Saturday's match in four sets, 25-17, 25-21, 19-25, 25-19. Indian Hills closes out the year with a 26-12 record.
Sophomore Sara Van Gisteren (Leuth, Netherlands/Young Talent Academy ROC Nijmegen) closed out her record-breaking career at Indian Hills with another impressive performance, tallying 18 kills on 37 attempts along with nine digs and a pair of service aces.
Sophomore Joanna Pawlik (Lublin, Poland/Nauczycieli Tajnego Nauczania) added a tournament-high 11 kills for the Warriors. Freshman Piper Nelson (Atkins, IA/Benton) put together a solid all-around performance with eight kills, four service aces, four digs, and a block.
Freshman Ana Luiza Caminha Matos (Betim, Brazil/Augusto de Lima) tallied a personal-best 30 assists in the loss for the Warriors as the setter provided a spark off the bench. The freshman also added three block assists at the net for the Warrior defense.
As a team, Indian Hills totaled a tournament-best 13 service aces as sophomore Iva Mrkaic (Belgrade, Serbia/Sports Gymnasium) came off the bench to provide a season-best three service aces.
In six all-time trips to the national tournament, the Warriors have now placed in the top-10 five times.
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