Cougars Volleyball sweeps own Tournament
Alex Staab – ICC Harbinger
East Peoria, IL – The Illinois Central College Cougars Volleyball team was ranked 7th in NJCAA Division II headed into hosting a tournament at Lorene Ramsey Gym this weekend. As they have multiple times before, the Cougars were able to prove that they are one of the top teams in the country.
The Cougars got things going Friday afternoon with the Blue Storm from Southwestern Illinois College. ICC rode a personal season-high eight aces from Maria Alferova (So. – Morton) and a personal season-high 59 assists from Kenzie Rhodes (So. – Dee-Mack) on the way to a final score of 3-1 in favor of ICC, with the sets going 25-18, 23-25, 25-22, 26-24.
The second match of the evening for ICC put the Cougars up against the Fort Scott Greyhounds. This one turned out to be the most exciting of ICC’s four matches in the tournament. With the crowd behind the team, the Cougars came back from being down two sets to none, winning the match in five sets, 23-25, 22-25, 25-15, 25-14, and 15-12.
It was a day that wound up going quicker than expected on Saturday. First up for the Cougars was NJCAA Division-I Kaskaskia College. The visiting Blue Angels were no match for ICC, as the Cougars took this one in three sets, 25-11, 25-20, and 25-14.
The final match of the day and tournament was another dominating performance, knocking off the Lincoln Trail Lady Statesmen in three sets, 25-17, 25-14, and 25-14.
The Cougars will travel to Hillsboro, Missouri on October 20th and 21st to participate in the Jefferson College Halloween Classic.
Cougars Statistical Leaders vs. SWIC
Kills | Mary O’Brien (13)
Digs | Maria Alferova (28)
Blocks | Claire Milnes (6)
Aces | Maria Alferova (8)
Assists | Kenzie Rhodes (45)
Cougars Statistical Leaders vs. Fort Scott
Kills | Leah TerBush (19)
Digs | Maria Alferova (28)
Blocks | Claire Milnes (7)
Aces | Maria Alferova (2)
Assists | Kenzie Rhodes (59)
Cougars Statistical Leaders vs. Kaskaskia
Kills | Leah TerBush & Mary O’Brien (10)
Digs | Maria Alferova (10)
Blocks | Claire Milnes (5)
Aces | Maria Alferova, Taylor Shaw, Kenzie Rhodes, & Amanda Pratt (1)
Assists | Kenzie Rhodes (31)
Cougars Statistical Leaders vs. Lincoln Trail
Kills | Mary O’Brien (10)
Digs | Maria Alferova (15)
Blocks | Lexi Mercer (5)
Aces | Maria Alferova & Haley Peterson (1)
Assists | Kenzie Rhodes (25)
Team Twitter: @ICCVolleyball | Harbinger Sports Twitter: @ICCSportsLive | Alex Staab: @StaabAlex