East Peoria, Ill. - Last season may not have been to far in the front of the minds of those within the eighth-ranked ICC volleyball program (30-12), but the storyline certainly was there. After a sweep over Lincoln Trail to start the day, the Cougars had to try and defeat #9 Heartland - again. Just under a month prior, the Cougars defeated the Hawks in five sets in Normal. Last season, the Cougars beat the Hawks in five in the regular season as well, then the Hawks took control in the District Final. So in a sense, ICC may have been on a mission to reverse that trajectory, and reverse it they did. The Cougars would go on to defeat Heartland in four to win the District Title and qualify for the NJCAA National Tournament for the 35th time in program history. Below are the statistical leaders from Saturday's matches.

#8 ICC COUGARS 3, Lincoln Trail 0 (25-8, 25-21, 25-13)
Kills | Hannah Tellor (8), Raquel Frakes (7), Emily Allison (7)
Digs | Emily Cronkhite (9), Raquel Frakes (7)
Assists | Hope Allen (26)
Blocks | Gracie Schultz (8), Kaitlyn Baumann (6)
Aces | Emily Allison (3)

#8 ICC COUGARS 3, #9 Heartland 1 (25-23, 14-25, 25-14, 25-21)
Kills | Gracie Schultz (12)
Digs | Emily Cronkhite (20), Raquel Frakes, (16), Hope Allen (11)
Assists | Hope Allen (37)
Blocks | Kaitlyn Baumann (5), Gracie Schultz (4)

WHAT'S NEXT FOR THE COUGARS
NJCAA National Tournament - First Round
Thursday, November 17th - Time TBA
Watch Live (NJCAA Network - $)
Live Stats (NJCAA.org; Link TBA)