Weatherford, TX – The No. 7 nationally ranked Indian Hills Volleyball squad opened up the 2025 campaign with a narrow 3-2 defeat on the opening night of the Weatherford Invitational, dropping a thriller to No. 8 ranked Missouri State University – West Plains.
The Warriors, making its season debut in the Lone Star State, fell short to the Grizzles in a back-and-forth affair. Indian Hills dropped the opening set 25-19 before evening the match with a 25-17 victory in set two. The Grizzlies responded with a 25-16 win in set three, but the Warriors forced a decisive fifth set with a 25-22 win in set four. MSU-WP pulled away late in the final frame to take a 15-11 victory and steal the match from the Warriors.
12 different Warriors saw action the court in Thursday night's top-10 nationally ranked battle between the two National Junior College Athletic Association (NJCAA) DI Volleyball Midwest District foes. The Warriors were led by freshman Farah Sherif (Alexandria, Egypt/EGC) who tallied a team-high 19 kills on 34 attempts for a .324 hitting percentage. Sophomore Piper Nelson (Atkins, IA/Benton) chipped in 12 kills for the Warrior offense.
Sophomore Asialin Powell (Des Moines, IA/Roosevelt) anchored the defense with a career-high 21 digs on the night. Nelson and Sherif both tallied 13 digs to record a double-double in the season-opener.
Sophomore Luana Silva Ferreira (Guimaraes, Portgual/Martins Sarmento) tallied seven total blocks on the night, including a pair of solo stops to go along with seven kills for the Warriors. Sophomore Ana Luiza Caminha Matos (Betim, Brazil/Augusto de Lima) distributed a team-high 36 assists while freshman Ana Silva (Sao Jose dos Campos, Brazil/Major Aviador José Mariotto) chipped in 16 helpers for the Warriors.
Indian Hills' road trip to Texas continues Friday with a pair of matchups at the Betty Jo Graber Arena. The Warriors will take on Frank Phillips College (TX) at 3:00 PM before rounding out the day against host Weatherford College (TX), ranked No. 4 in the preseason national polls.
NEW YEAR - WHAT TO KNOW
Fans can keep up the Indian Hills Volleyball squad all year long through a number of ways:
- X (formerly Twitter): @IHCCAthletics
- Facebook: Indian Hills Athletics | Indian Hills Volleyball
- Instagram: @IHCC_Volleyball | @IHCCAthletics
- Youtube: Indian Hills Athletics
- Website: www.indianhillsathletics.com
- Catch up with the history of Indian Hills Volleyball: Indian Hills Volleyball Record Book | Indian Hills Volleyball All-Time Awards
- Keep up with former Indian Hills Volleyball standouts and where they are now | Next Level Warriors - Indian Hills Volleyball
- All home games are played at the Hellyer Center on the Indian Hills Ottumwa campus
HOW TO WATCH
As always, GoHillsTV provides free live broadcasts of all Indian Hills home volleyball games. Fans can tune in a number of ways all season long:
- Facebook: visit www.facebook.com/gohillstv
- GoHillsTV App: Download the Iowa Media Network app on your android or ios device and navigate to the GoHillsTV section
- Website: https://www.gohillstv.com/browse to catch all live and archived information
- Roku Streaming Device (new): Have a Roku TV or streaming stick? Download the GoHillsTV app to start streaming today!
Looking for Indian Hills Athletics information straight to your inbox? Subscribe to our newsletter and mobile alerts to receive news, scores, highlights, and more in real-time: INDIAN HILLS ATHLETICS NEWSLETTER