OTTUMWA — Head coach Lyndsey Michel and the Indian Hills volleyball squad have unveiled their 2026 schedule, which is set to open up Aug. 20.
The Warriors, winners of four consecutive National Junior College Athletic Association (NJCAA) District Championships and four straight trips to the national tournament, boast a formidable schedule featuring numerous perennial national contenders. The 31-match slate includes seven contests at the historic Hellyer Center in Ottumwa.
The campaign for Indian Hills will feature five matches against teams that advanced to last year's NJCAA Division I National Tournament and 12 matches in total against teams that finished the 2025 regular season in their respective national rankings. The regular season opens up at the Reiver Classic in Council Bluffs against the likes of Eastern Wyoming College, College of Southern Idaho, Northeastern Junior College and Dodge City Community College.
The Warriors' home opener is set for Aug. 24 against Des Moines Area Community College at 6 p.m. The two sides will also meet in Boone on Oct. 26. Indian Hills has won nine of its last 10 contests against the Bears.
Indian Hills will make its longest trek of the season Aug. 28-29 for the Kruse Kickoff Classic, a 971-mile haul to Brenham, Texas on the campus of Blinn College. The four-match tournament includes dates against 2025 national qualifier Blinn and the defending national runners-up Florida SouthWestern State College.
Following a trip to Hutchinson for the Blue Dragon Classic, being held Sept. 3-4, the Warriors return home for a date against district foe Missouri State University-West Plains on Sept. 9. Indian Hills will then travel to Illinois for the Lakeland Laker Invitational Sept. 10-11 before closing out the month of September with four straight head-to-head matchups, including the Iowa Community College Athletic Conference (ICCAC) opener at Iowa Western Community College on Sept. 29.
October will see the Warriors with three consecutive home dates (Oct. 12 vs. Carl Sandburg College, Oct. 15 vs. Iowa Western and Oct. 20 vs. Jefferson College). The regular season will wrap up with a final conference matchup with Iowa Western on Oct. 29 in Council Bluffs.
The NJCAA Midwest District Tournament is scheduled for Nov. 6-8. The 2026 NJCAA Division I Volleyball National Championship gets underway Nov. 19 in Clarksville, Tennessee.
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