Bees Volleyball Sweeps Harrisburg Area CC to Open National Tourney

CEDAR RAPIDS, Iowa – Dallas College Eastfield's volleyball team swept Harrisburg Area Community College, 25-5, 25-11, 25-11, in the opening round of the National Junior College Athletic Association Division III National Tournament Thursday at Alliant Energy PowerHouse.

Top-seeded Eastfield (31-1) advances to Thursday's 7:30 p.m. quarterfinals against eighth-seeded Owens Community College (22-11) in a match to air on the NJCAA Network. Live Stats are also available.

The reigning champion Harvester Bees hit a season-best .493, committing just five attack errors in 69 opportunities. Harrisburg was held to a -.099 attack rate.

McKenzie Anderson had 10 kills and no errors in 11 swings for a whopping .909 hitting percentage – a career high for Eastfield's sophomore middle blocker. Sophomore outside hitter Azoria Davis had eight kills and one error for a .500 percentage. She led the Bees with 10 digs, and had two aces. Freshman outside hitter Mia Santos had seven kills and no errors in 10 attempts for a .700 percentage, and served one ace. Sophomore outside hitter Brenly Walker had six kills and an error, hitting .455.

Sophomore setter Taryn Doiron, who is headed to NCAA Division I Lamar University, finished with 33 assists. Sophomore middle blocker Kendall Wilson had four blocks and two aces. Sophomore libero Ava Cole had three aces. Freshman setter Avery Zavala had two aces, and freshman outside hitter Madison Mohlke one.

Eastfield finished with 11 aces. Harrisburg (18-11) did not record an ace.

Walker's kill in the opening set gave the Bees a 14-4 lead. Following a Hawks sideout, Anderson's kill triggered an 11-0 run to close the first set. Cole served all three of her aces during that stretch, while Walker had two kills, including the set-termination point.

The Harvesters hit .529 with 10 kills and one error in 17 attacks in Set 1. The Hawks managed one kill in 20 chances.

Davis banged down a kill in the second set to stake Eastfield to a 14-5 lead. Kills by Doiron and Walker, and a hitting error by Harrisburg stretched the lead to 20-7. Davis pounded a kill, and an attack error by the Hawks gave the Bees a 2-0 lead in the match.

Eastfield hit .476 with 12 kills and two errors in the second set.

In the third set, Davis and Anderson combined on a block to put the Harvester Bees up, 7-1. Zoe Velez's kill kept the Hawks within 14-5. Carli Banks' kill bumped Eastfield's lead to 17-7. Following another kill by Velez that kept the Hawks within 10, Anderson pounded two straight kills, and Santos had another to move the Bees within three points of the win. A kill by Harrisburg's Peyton Maass followed before Santos put down another ball. Following an Eastfield serving error, sophomore middle blocker Kinleigh Hall and Santos finished the match with kills.

The Bees put away 17 kills, and had two errors in the decisive set.

It was Eastfield's sixth straight sweep and 26^th this season.