Hawks struggle at Iowa Western Tournament

COUNCIL BLUFFS, Iowa – The Northeast Community College women's volleyball team squared off with NJCAA DI Mineral Area College (9-25, 21-25 and 19-25) and NJCAA DII Johnson County Community College (21-25, 25-14, 23-25 and 22-25), dropping both matches at the Iowa Western Tournament on Friday in Council Bluffs, Iowa.

In the first match of the day against Johnson County, Hannah Heppner (Stanton, Neb.) led the Hawks with 16 kills and four blocks. Gabriela Barbosa (Rio de Janeiro, Brazil) recorded 33 digs and Savannah Nelson (Wakefield, Neb.) pitched in 38 assists.

"Today we played very well at times and not so good at other times," head coach Amanda Schultze said. "We were very inconsistent today, and that is something we really need to work on before next week. We played some good defense in our first match against Johnson County, but we also stood and just watched balls drop, which was disappointing, as Johnson County was a very beatable team."

In the loss to Mineral Area, Kalli Brester (Howells, Neb.) had seven kills, while Barbosa tallied 12 digs and Nelson had 16 assists.

The Hawks (15-11, 6-1 ICCAC) return home to battle Hawkeye Community College at 7 p.m. Wednesday at the Cox Activities Center in Norfolk.

Live stream will be available at: https://team1sports.com/northeastcc/

For all news related to Northeast Community College athletics, visit northeasthawks.com for complete coverage. Fans can also follow the Hawks on Twitter @NortheastHawks for game-day coverage.