Ottumwa, IA – The No. 18 nationally ranked Indian Hills Volleyball squad swept the weekly Iowa Community College Athletic Conference (ICCAC) Athlete of the Week awards as sophomores Sara Van Gisteren (Leuth, Netherlands/Young Talent Academy ROC Nijmegen) and Daniela De Los Santos Castillo (Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic/Colegio los Clavelines) were recognize by the conference office.
The duo powered the Warriors to three wins last week, including a key ICCAC victory over league foe Iowa Western Community College on Wednesday night. Van Gisteren garners her fifth ICCAC Offensive Athlete of the Week honor this year while Castillo lands her second defensive accolade for a total of three weekly awards this year.
Van Gisteren powered the Warrior offense with another dominant week on the court. The sophomore tallied 64 kills to go along with seven service aces. The outside hitter produced one of the top individual performances in school history against Iowa Western with a career-high 31 kills, the most for the Warriors dating back to the 2009 season. Van Gisteren also tallied a pair of double-doubles on the week, adding 14 kills and 10 digs in a 3-0 sweep of Illinois Central on Saturday.
Van Gisteren, who ranks second in the nation with 502 kills on the year, continues to climb the Indian Hills record books. The sophomore boasts 955 career kills over the past two seasons.
Castillo anchored the Indian Hills defense once again with a solid showing at the net. Castillo tallied 15 total blocks on the week, including eight solo stops without committing a blocking error. Castillo posted four solo blocks against Illinois Central to tie a career-high.
Castillo currently ranks eighth in the nation with 47 total blocks while her 111 total blocks rank 11th in the NJCAA.
The Warriors return to action Wednesday night with the ICCAC finale against Iowa Western in Council Bluffs. With the regular season series tied 1-1, the Warriors and Reivers will square off at 7:00 PM to determine the regular season champion.
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