For the second consecutive weekend, the Des Moines Area Community College (DMACC) volleyball team came away with three losses in four matches in tournament play.
On Sept. 29 and 30, the Bears lost three of four matches in the Johnson County Volleyball Challenge and on Oct. 6 and 7 DMACC lost three of four matches in the DMACC Invitational. The Bears dropped 3-0 decisions to Parkland College (PC) and Coffeyville Community College (CCC) on Oct. 6, then defeated North Dakota State College of Science (NDSCS), 3-0, in their first match on Oct. 7, before losing to Highland Community College (HCC), 3-0.
PC, CCC and HCC are ranked second, fourth and 15th respectively in the National Junior College Athletic Association (NJCAA) Division II poll.
Freshman Peyton Parker of La Porte City had eight kills, freshman Madison Paulsen of Council Bluffs finished with six and sophomore Lauren Rieck of Ankeny and freshman Brianna Harvey of Dysart had five kills apiece as the Bears fell to PC, 22-25, 16-25, 18-25. DMACC hit .179 in the loss, getting 27 kills from 78 attacks with 13 hitting errors.
Sophomore Leiah Paustian of Marshalltown led DMACC in assists with 26 and Paulsen topped the Bears in digs with 10. Paustian had seven digs and sophomore Rachael Bair of Braddyville and freshman Lexi Killinger of Treynor had six digs apiece.
Paulsen and Rieck had seven kills apiece and Parker finished with five in DMACC's 17-25, 20-25, 16-25 loss to CCC. The Bears were a disappointing .012 in hitting, coming away with 24 kills in 86 attacks with 23 hitting errors.
Paustian again led DMACC in assists with 23 and contributed one ace serve. Paulsen and freshman Madeline Wagner of Carroll also had one ace serve apiece. Bair led the Bears in digs with eight and Paulsen finished with six. Paustian had four blocks in the match with Rieck getting three.
Paulsen's nine kills and eight apiece from Rieck and Parker led DMACC to a 25-15, 25-12, 25-9 win over NDSCS. The Bears hit .265 in the win, getting 29 kills from 68 attacks with 11 hitting errors.
Paustian had a team-high 27 assists and freshman Gill Tupper contributed six ace serves. Bair and Paustian finished with eight and seven digs respectively and Rieck had five blocks, including three block assists.
Parker had 13 kills, Rieck finished with 11 and Paulsen had 10 in DMACC's 26-28, 15-25, 23-25 loss to HCC. The Bears hit .182 with 38 kills in 99 attacks with 20 hitting errors.
Paulsen led the Bears in assists with 36 and Bair had 13 digs with Paulsen, Tupper and Killinger getting seven apiece.
DMACC, 13-15 on the season, returns to Iowa Community College Athletic Conference (ICCAC) play when the Bears face Southeastern Community College (SECC) Oct. 11 at West Burlington. DMACC is 4-1 in league play. SECC is 12-11 overall and 2-4 in the conference.
