IOWA FALLS, IOWA -- It's on to the postseason for the Ellsworth CC volleyball team after the Panthers closed out the regular season in style with a 3-0 blanking of Iowa Lakes CC at Dittmer Gym on Tuesday night.  ECC finished a season sweep of the Lakers, winning 25-11, 25-9, 25-15 in what was likely their best offensive performance of the year.

The Panthers hit .349, their highest percentage in 2021, and were led at the net by Gabi Damiano's 17 kills and .556 hitting.  Damiano added 15 digs.  Kaitlyn Baer sparkled on defense with her 26 digs, the highest single-match total for Ellsworth this season.  Haley Forge chipped in 11 kills.  And setter Vitoria Kazanovski did a masterful job of setting up her teammates with 40 assists.  She added three ace serves.

Next up for the Panthers is a matchup with Southwestern CC on Friday at Dittmer Gym in the first match of the Region XI-A postseason tourney.  The winner moves on to play Iowa Central CC on Sunday afternoon.  Ellsworth and Southwestern split their two regular-season matches with each winning 3-1 on their home floor.  First serve is at 7:00 Friday night.