Cedar Rapids, IA - The eighth-seeded Illinois Central College Volleyball team (31-13) debuted at the 2024 NJCAA National Tournament on Wednesday afternoon, both motivated by the seed line and anxious to take on a quality ninth-seeded Pensacola State team from a traditionally tough Region 8. The Cougars did win in sweeping fashion, but the nature of the sets was anything but, with any more than a two-point lead hard to come by, but at the end of the day, the Cougars took the third set by an eight-point margin and advanced to the Elite 8 with a 3-0 victory over the Pirates. The prize for the Sweet 16 victory is a duel with the herculean #1-ranked Cowley Tigers (37-0), who are also defending National Champions. 

#8 ICC COUGARS 3, #9 PENSACOLA STATE 0 (25-23, 27-25, 25-17)
Kills | Makenzie Pflederer (17), Bella Gregory (10)
Assists | Shelby Emich (38)
Digs | Makenzie Pflederer (19), Maddie Jones (12)
Blocks | Nevaeh Lewis (6)
Aces | Bella Porritt (2), Shelby Emich (2)

WHAT'S NEXT FOR THE COUGARS
2024 NJCAA D2 VOLLEYBALL ELITE EIGHT
vs. #1 Cowley Tigers (37-0)
Thursday, November 21st - 5:30 PM
at Alliant Energy Powerhouse Arena - Cedar Rapids, IA
Watch Live ($) (NJCAA Network)
Live Stats (NJCAA.org)

TALE OF THE TAPE - #8 ICC VS. #1 COWLEY
Team Stats
Kills | ICC - 1,872 (11.4 per set) | Cowley - 1,732 (15.1 per set)
Assists | ICC - 1,583 (9.6 per set) | Cowley - 1,653 (14.4 per set)
Digs | ICC - 3,342 (20.3 per set) | Cowley - 2,012 (17.5 per set)
Blocks | ICC - 226 (1.4 per set) | Cowley - 157 (1.4 per set)
Aces | ICC - 319 (1.9 per set) | Cowley - 311 (2.7 per set)

Individual Leaders
Kills
ICC - Makenzie Pflederer (552 / 3.4 per set)
Cowley - Laura Bonomi (507 / 4.4 per set)

Assists
ICC - Shelby Emich (1,344 / 8.2 per set)
Cowley - Hanna Darvas (1,313 / 12.3 per set)

Digs 
ICC - Maddie Jones (992 / 6.2 per set)
Cowley - Jessi Ritchhart (644 / 5.6 per set)

Blocks
ICC - Brooke Ladd (90 / 0.7 per set)
Cowley - Lu Ceroni (68 / 0.6 per set)

Aces
ICC - Maddie Jones (76 / 0.5 per set)
Cowley - Laura Bonomi (81 / 0.7 per set)

Rematch - Returning Notables from '23 Elite 8 Match (Cowley won, 3-0)
Makenzie Pflederer | 5 kills, 3 digs, 2 block assists
Shelby Emich | 2 kills, 23 assists, 7 digs, 1 block assist