- Sophomore Abbi Brenizer leads DMACC with 22 kills
- Sophomore Halia Mahi contributes 50 assists
- Sophomore Emma Jones has three ace serves and 30 digs
Sophomore Abbi Brenizer of Norwalk had 22 kills and hit .422 as the DMACC volleyball team handed Southeastern Community College (SECC) a 3-2 loss in the quarterfinals of the National Junior College Athletic Association (NJCAA) Region 11 volleyball tournament November 6 inside the DMACC gymnasium.
Brenizer got her 22 kills from 45 attacks with three attack errors as the Bears won by set scores of 25-17, 23-25, 25-19, 19-25, 15-8. DMACC improved to 23-17 with the win and will face Kirkwood Community College (KCC) in the tournament semifinals Nov. 9 at Cedar Rapids.
Freshmen Emma Liechti of Ankeny, Jaelynne Clarke of Alliance, Neb., and Danica Wrage of Waterloo joined Brenizer in double figures in kills with Liechti getting 12 and Clarke and Wrage coming away with 11 apiece. DMACC hit .218, getting 63 kills from 193 attacks with 21 attack errors.
The Bears, ranked 24th in the NJCAA Division II poll, got 50 assists from sophomore Halia Mahi of Cedar Falls and sophomore Emma Jones of Readlyn had three ace serves and Mahi getting two.
Clarke topped the Bears in digs with 34 and Jones had 30. Mahi added 25, sophomore Lexie Lane of Renwick finished with 22 and freshman Lauren Sandvold of Cedar Falls had 15.
Liechti and sophomore Maggie Johnston of Boone led DMACC in blocks with five block assists apiece and Brenizer had three block assists.
DMACC, the tournament's No. 4 seed, and KCC, the top seed, will play at 1 p.m. on Nov. 9. KCC, the third-ranked team in the NJCAA Division II poll, brings a 32-6 record into the match, including a 3-1 win over DMACC when the two teams played Oct. 9 at Cedar Rapids. The Eagles are 9-1 in their last ten matches and have a five-match winning streak.
Second-seeded Iowa Central Community College (ICCC) and third-seeded Northeast (Neb.) Community College (NECC) will meet in the other Region 11 semifinal match, also on Nov. 9 at Cedar Rapids. The semifinal winners will play in the championship match Nov. 10 at Cedar Rapids. The Region 11 champion will advance to the 2024 NJCAA Division II Volleyball Championship Nov. 20 to 23 at Cedar Rapids.
