IOWA FALLS, IOWA -- Hawkeye broke away from a late tie in the 3rd set and finished off a 3-0 defeat of Ellsworth CC in ICCAC volleyball action at Ditmer Gym on Wednesday night.

The 3rd set was knotted at 24-all and the Red Tails tallied the final two points for the 26-24 win.  The visitors won the first two sets, 25-18 and 25-17.  ECC led for the major portion of the 3rd set and was on top 22-17 after a Haley Forge block.  HCC ran off five straight points to tie it up.  The final lead for the Panthers came on a kill by Yoliann DeJesus-Tejedor.

Ellsworth got behind 14-2 right away in the opening set and battled back to trail 23-18 before Hawkeye pulled it out.  ECC went up 6-2 at the outset of set two and there were five ties, the last one at 14-all.

Louise Lion and Gabi Damiano each had 7 kills to pace the Panthers' net play.  Hanna Forge and Nuria Bravo Santos had 12 assists apiece.  Bravo Santos also served a pair of aces.  And Hanna Forge and Damiano had 12 and 10 digs, respectively.

The Panthers will take on two ICCAC foes on Friday when they square off against Southwestern and Iowa Lakes at a tournament hosted by NIACC.  They go to Dubuque on Saturday to face Emmaus Bible College.