Second-ranked Iowa Central overcame some early nerves to record another sweep and secure a spot in the Region XI-A Tournament championship here on Saturday.
The Tritons swept past North Iowa Area for the fourth time this year by scores of 25-20, 25-12 and 25-16.
Iowa Central (39-1 overall) will play for a return bid to the NJCAA Championships on Sunday inside Hodges Fieldhouse against Des Moines Area at 1 p.m.
"We knew what to expect from NIACC," Iowa Central head coach Sara Horn said. "Regionals weekend is always a little more stressful between the importance of the matches, seeing family, dealing with some nagging injuries; but I thought the girls battled and worked out any troubles there early on."
Katilyn Steffes, a returning starter from last spring when the Tritons placed a program-best third at nationals, had seven kills in the opening set as Iowa Central overcame a pair of rallies by the Trojans (15-25).
NIACC, led by Grace Tobin, scored six consecutive points to take the score from 15-6 to 15-12. They also had a four-point burst before Iowa Central was able to close it out.
Tobin finished with seven kills to lead NIACC.
"When you have a player the caliber of a Grace Tobin, you know you have to try and keep her out of a rhythm," Horn said. "NIACC did a nice job of getting her going early."
Steffes had five kills in the second set with Angel Baylark adding four and Jori Hajek three. An 8-0 run midway through the set put Iowa Central on cruise control as they scored the first seven points of the third.
Hajek had six kills in the third with Alesha Johnson picking up the match-ending point.
Steffes finished with 15 kills and nine digs, Hajek had eight and 12, and Baylark added six with three block assists and two solo blocks. Haley Alharithy had three kills and two block assists, Alesha Johnson recorded 33 assists with four digs and two kills, and Baylyn Johnson had 16 digs.
The Tritons have won four consecutive regular season ICCAC Div. II titles and are now 94-11 over the past three years, including a 42-4 mark inside Hodges Fieldhouse.
-By Dana Becker