Moving Up in the Polls

EAST PEORIA — The sunny state of Florida wasn’t so nice to the sixth-ranked Illinois Central College womens volleyball team over the weekend of Oct. 12 and 13, as the Cougars carried a 10 match win streak into their first match but ended up losing 3 out of 4 of the matches they played in.

“We have been playing some tough teams in Division I and II and when you are up, you’re up,” said coach Sue Sinclair. “We just couldn’t keep the momentum going.”

In the tournament at Jacksonville, Florida, ICC (25-7) in the first day played against the number 10 team in the country, Miami Dade College (16-4), and the number 19 team in the country, Florida State College at Jacksonville (17-4), who also was the host school. Those rankings reflect the National Junior College Division I national polls that were released on Oct. 9.

“The two we played on Friday were really tough after traveling all day Thursday,” said Sinclair.

In the second day of the tournament, the Cougars lost a five set thriller to Polk State College (15-11). Polk State is currently receiving votes in the national polls in Division I also. In the final match for the Cougars of the tournament, they were able to get their only win in Florida against Palm Beach State College (6- 18).

“[We’re] disappointed we didn’t pull out the first match on Saturday losing 17-15,” said Sinclair. “We led we just didn’t finish.”

Freshman Reilly Dunne was named to the all-tournament team in Florida. Dunne recorded 32 kills and three aces in the tournament with a .370 hitting percentage. Dunne for the season leads the team with 2.7 kills per set and also has a .323 hitting percentage for the season.

Kattie Lee leads the team in aces with 86 so far this season, which also ranks her fourth in Division II according to the NJCAA website.

“I have worked hard to get where I am today,” said Lee.

Lee also was named National Player of the Week by the NJCAA website for the week of Sept. 30 through Oct. 6.

The Cougars hosted a home tournament on Oct. 18 and 19 at the CougarPlex, and it featured Southwestern Illinois College, East Central Community College, Columbus State Community College and Lake Land College.

“Hopefully we will get back on track,” said Sinclair. “We expect to win the tournament, but sometimes that is easier said than done.”

The last chance before the Regional tournament where interested fans will get to see the Cougars at home will be on Oct. 30 at 6 p.m. There, they will have their annual Alumni Matches at the CougarPlex.

Make sure to check online for the results from the last home tournament of the year.