STERLING — The NCIC Tournament took place this Saturday without the defending NCIC champions.

With Ottawa unable to compete due to the ongoing strike, Sterling edged Dixon 34-33 for the conference championship at Sauk Valley Community College. Geneseo was third with 31 points. Streator finished ninth with 10 points.

Streator had a pair of eighth-place finishes in the event. No. 1 singles entry Emma Nettlingham finished eighth overall. Nettlingham opened with a nice 6-4, 6-4 win over Morris' Tara Davis before falling 6-0, 6-1 to eventual singles champion Bari Reynolds from Streator.

Nettlingham then fell 10-2 to La Salle-Peru's Nikki Kulis before dropping a 10-5 decision to Kewanee's Kara Reed in the seventh-place match.

Ciera Hancin was eighth at No. 2 singles. She received a forfeit win to open the tournament before falling 6-0, 6-0 to Princeton's Tristan Hicks in the next round. After a 10-2 loss to Mendota's Tara Lefflemann, Hancin dropped a 10-2 decision to Kewanee's Danielle Beedles.

Amanda DePaz and Ann Hirkala took ninth at No. 1 doubles for the Lady Bulldogs. Jana Booze and Myria Neilson were ninth at No. 2 doubles.

JUCO volleyball

IVCC goes 2-3 in tournament

At Kankakee, Illinois Valley claimed two wins in five matches.

The Lady Eagles opened with a 26-24, 25-19, 25-21 win over Milwaukee Area Technical College. In the match, Woodland graduate Tori Pflibsen amassed 12 kills and four aces for IVCC. Ottawa product Randi Toynton totaled 35 assists and a block, while La Salle-Peru's Riley Gapinski tallied 12 points (four aces) and 18 digs. Ottawa alum Mandy Towne had 10 kills and 17 digs. Fieldcrest's Kayla Conroy had 21 digs.

Next, the Lady Eagles fell 25-20, 25-21, 25-23 to Jackson Community College (Michigan). Pflibsen had eight kills, and Toynton had seven points with two aces and 22 assists. Towne had seven kills. Conroy tallied 20 digs.

Illinois Valley bounced back with a 25-16, 25-19, 25-18 win. Aimee Piontek had 10 service points (six aces) and nine kills. Gapinski had 10 points. Pflibsen had seven kills and six aces. Towne tallied five kills, three blocks and three aces. Toynton had 16 assists.

Next, IVCC fell 23-25, 25-22, 27-25, 24-26, 15-9 to Rend Lake College. Toynton had 16 points, 47 assists and 18 digs. Pflibsen added 13 points while Gapinski had eight points, including five aces. Piontek had 18 kills and four blocks while Towne had 17 kills and 24 digs. Toynton amassed 47 assists and 18 digs.

Kankakee Community College then claimed a 25-13, 25-13, 25-10 win over IVCC. Piontek and Pflibsen each had four kills. Conroy tallied three points and 10 digs. Towne had seven digs.

JUCO golf

Kinney finishes 11th at NJCAA Region IV event

At Byron's Prairieview Golf Course, Illinois Valley took sixth in the 10-team NJCAA Region IV Division II Championships held over the weekend.

Marquette graduate Broc Kinney finished 11th overall in the tournament with a 240. His performance included a strong 76 on the final day of the tournament.

Earlville High School graduate Gavin Corrigan scored a 242, which included a 78 on the second day. Troy Bauer had a 246 while Adam Brodko shot a 260. Fieldcrest graduate Luke Morse had a 263.