NORTHEAST UPSETS NO. 15 HAWKEYE BEHIND EXCELLENT NIGHT FROM THREE DIFFERENT FRESHMEN

NORFOLK, Neb. – The Northeast Community College volleyball team hosted No. 15 Hawkeye Community College in their first conference matchup of the season Wednesday at the Cox Activities Center in Norfolk. The Hawks swept the Red Tails by a final score of 3-0 to start the ICCAC portion of the schedule undefeated.

Northeast (7-2, 1-0 ICCAC) was in control of the showdown from the first point of the night as another large crowd and packed student section fueled the Hawks. Hawkeye looked to have a chance to take the second set, but Northeast remained composed and went on to complete their fifth sweep of the campaign. Freshmen Alex Arenas (Wakefield, Neb.) (8), Shaylyn Safranek (Merna, Neb.) (7) and Avery Couch (David City, Neb.) (7) all led the Hawks in kills.

A new and improved mascot, still named "Jazzy," was unveiled between the second and third sets of the contest as Northeast Community College celebrates the 50th Anniversary of the college. Fans are encouraged to come out to a home game this season to see the new mascot!

STAT SHEET:

Set Scores: 25-17, 26-24, 25-21

Kills: Alex Arenas (Wakefield, Neb.) 8, Shaylyn Safranek (Merna, Neb.) 7, Avery Couch (David City, Neb.) 7

Blocks: Alexa Cunningham (Wausa, Neb.) 3, Avery Couch 2, Alex Arenas 2

Ace Serves: Sydney Redden (Wayne, Neb.) 2, Alex Arenas 2

Digs: Sydney Redden 22, Kiara Krusemark (Wayne, Neb.) 15 Lauren Buhrman (Wisner, Neb.) 16, Jayden Bestenlehner (Omaha, Neb.) 10, Alex Arenas 10

Assists: Kiara Krusemark 32, Sydney Redden 3

HEAR FROM THE HAWKS COACH:

Head Volleyball Coach Amanda Schultze on the huge victory:

"Big win," Schultze said. "Great start, obviously, to conference play. We still need to work on consistency and not making four or five errors in a row. Overall, I felt like we came together and worked hard and finished the game."

Schultze on what she is looking forward to during the upcoming matches on Friday:

"Just to get to another tournament and see some other teams that we don't see often, and the opportunity to get better," Schultze said.

UP NEXT:

The Hawks will load up for a one-day tournament as they will take on Otero College at 11 a.m. Friday in McCook, Nebraska before battling Dodge City Community College at 3 p.m. later in the day in the same gym.

HAWKS HAPPENINGS:

For all the latest information on Northeast Hawks Athletics, please visit northeasthawks.com. For updates and other exciting content, follow:

@northeastcchawks on Facebook

@northeasthawks on Instagram

@northeasthawks on TikTok

@NortheastHawks on Twitter

@NortheastCCVB on Twitter