(May 12) -- IHCC volleyball coach Tori Fowler has gone to North Dakota to sign her latest recruit for 2008. Timmi Lueck, a 5-6 Libero/Defensive Specialist from Enderlin, North Dakota has signed a letter-of-intent to attend IHCC and play for the Warriors. Lueck's high school coach, Kevin Peterson, said the Warriors are getting an outstanding player and person. "Timmi has made tremendous strides as a player and person over the last three years. She has displayed all of the skills that will enable her to perform at a high level for Coach Fowler and Indian Hills. Timmi leaves Enderlin High School as the most decorated volleyball player in school history. She holds numerous school records and is the first player to garner all-state honors."
Timmi is the daughter of Chester and Michelle Lueck. Her academic interest is business marketing. She will join the Warriors for the 2008 season.
(January 24) -- A two-sport star from West Branch High School has signed a letter-of-intent to attend Indian Hills Community College. Both IHCC volleyball coach Tori Fowler and softball coach Jim Overturf will benefit from the talents of Lizzy Tucker, a 5-foot, 10-inch right-side hitter in volleyball and catcher/first baseman in softball.
Tucker was an honorable mention all-conference choice in volleyball and was named academic all-conference the past two years. In softball, she was a 3rd team all-state selection and 1st team all-district as a junior last summer. She had a .453 batting average for the season with 28 RBIs. Tucker was 1st team all-conference as a junior, honorable mention as a sophomore and 2nd team as a freshman.
Tucker is the daughter of Greg and Faye Tucker of West Branch.
(November 30) -- A standout middle hitter from Marshalltown High School is the first 2008 recruit for IHCC volleyball coach Tori Fowler. Tahler Johnston, who was named a third-team all-stater in Class 4A and led her high school team to a state tournament berth, should give the Warriors some firepower on the frontline, according to Fowler.
Johnston led the Marshalltown Bobcats in kills with 351, an average of 3.19 per game and also paced the team in blocks. She was second in service aces and was a unanimous 1st team all-conference choice and 1st team all-district, in addition to her all-state honors.
Fowler said, " We feel fortunate to have Tahler on board as a Warrior. She is a versatile athlete who will have the ability to compete for playing time immediately. I think with Tahler's work ethic she will continue to improve and elevate her game."
Johnston's parents are Bernie and Melanie Johnston of Marshalltown.
(November 20) -- The Indian Hills volleyball team will host a two-hour skills clinic for local and area youth on Tuesday, December 18. The clinic will be held in the Tom Arnold Net Center on the IHCC Ottumwa campus and will run from 4:30 - 6:30 pm on the 18th. IHCC head coach Tori Fowler and assistant coach Michelle Sieler and members of the Warriors team that finished 32-13 this fall will conduct the clinic. There will be an emphasis on skill development and fun! In the spirit of the holidays, a portion of the proceeds from the clinic will go to the United Way of Wapello County.
The clinic is for those in grades 4 through 8. The cost to attend is $20. In addition to the instruction that participants will receive, they will also get a ticket to the Indian Hills basketball game against Iowa Central on January 5th.
For more information on the volleyball clinic, call Tori Fowler at 641-683-5128 or the IHCC athletic office at 641-683-5288.
(November 7) -- With twice as many wins as the year before, the Indian Hills volleyball team came back from a subpar season in 2006 to re-establish the IHCC volleyball program in the 2007 campaign. The Warriors finished the year with a 32-13 record, playing one of the toughest schedules in school history. Ten of the 13 losses came against teams that qualified for the NJCAA National Tournament. And the Warriors were very competitive against most of the teams that ended their seasons at the national tourney.
Indian Hills began the year ranked 15th in the preseason NJCAA Division I poll despite a 16-25 record in '06. The ranking was likely a result of the Warriors returning five key sophomores from the previous season and adding a talented recruiting class of seven freshmen. IHCC went 4-3 in the season-opening tournament hosted by Iowa Western. The losses came against perennial powers Hutchinson (KS), Missouri State-West Plains and Barton County (KS). MS-WP and Barton County were both national tournament qualifiers with Barton County beating Hutchinson to go to the tourney.
The Warriors followed that opening tournament with a nine-match winning streak, losing only two games in those nine matches. Their second big tournament test came in the Arkansas-Fort Smith tourney at the end of September. Again, the Warriors squared off against a loaded field, winning twoof their five matches. The losses were administered by the host school and Frank Phillips (TX), two more national tournament qualifiers.
IHCC then won five straight matches, four of them on the way to a title at the State Fair Tournament where the Warriors went 12-1 in two days. Over the course of the rest of the regular season, Indian Hills lost only five matches -- two of them to Region XI foe Iowa Western and two more to Kishwaukee (IL), the top-ranked team in NJCAA Division II. But the Warriors couldn't get past Iowa Western in the regional tournament and the Reivers sent IHCC to the sidelines for the second year in a row.
Indian Hills was rated in the top 20 in the nation for most of the season before dropping out of the rankings at the end of October.
In reviewing the season, Coach Tori Fowler said, "We had a great season. Unfortunately, we faced the defending national champions (Iowa Western) on their home court in the regionals and they kept us from having a shot at a trip to the national tournament, which was one of our goals. Our team played hard all season long and we're certainly excited about the potential of next year's team. We return our top four hitting leaders from this season. It should be one of the strongest returning classes in school history."
The Warriors had a number of different players among their statistical leaders. Sophomore setter Melanie Hackbarth (Algona, IA) led the team in assists with an average of over 12 a game and she was seventh in the nation in that category. She moved into second place on the Indian Hills all-time assists list, trailing only former All-American Jill Hoeck. Sophomore libero Chelsea Wood (Ankeny, IA) ranked 14th nationally in digs and became the IHCC career leader in digs, passing Cassie Ramaekers. Hackbarth also led the team in hitting percentage and was third in digs. Freshman Maira Charun (Lima, Peru) was tops in service aces with 56 and in kills with 423, an average of nearly 3.7 a game. Freshman Karie Downing (Ottumwa, IA) was the leader in blocks and second in both kills and hitting percentage.
Keep up with the Warriors in the IHCC Athletics blog ...
© 2008, Indian Hills Community College |
Ottumwa & Centerville, IA
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Head Coach Tori Fowler
641.683.5128
800.726.2585, ext. 5128
tfowler@indianhills.edu