The Ironmen (28-8) are set to host the Minooka Indians (18-18) tonight at 6 p.m., with the Regional Title and a spot in the IHSA Sectionals on the line.

The contest is a high-stakes rematch of last season’s Regional Championship tilt, which ended in an “incredibly frustrating” fashion, according to Head Coach Christine Konopasek.

To avoid repeating history, the team will look to continue where they left off on Tuesday when they handed the Pekin Dragons a 2-0 defeat in the Regional Semis.

After winning the first set against Pekin 25-19, the Ironmen slayed the Dragons 25-5. Community finished the contest, hitting .385 and scoring seven aces.

Pivotal to the Iron’s success, Konopasek said, was the team’s precision from the service line.

Freshman Evie Mounce was a sharpshoot, tallying four of the team’s aces.

The team’s serving didn’t just score points, it prevented Pekin from mounting any sort of offense.

In the second set, Mounce, Konopasek said, “was on the line for 14 or 15 points. We were getting the ball back, [and] we were terminating.”

Junior Alana Whitfield, a verbal commit to Michigan State, proved she wouldn’t be outdone by the underclassman.

“There was one point in time where Alana was serving,” Konopasek said, “and I told her… ‘split them,’” calling for Whitfield to drop the ball between two defenders, pinning them out of position. “She split them for an ace. The ball landed almost directly in between them.”

That precision is what the team has been practicing ahead of the postseason, focusing on “serving tough” and on targeting and ball placement.

In the first set, Konopasek acknowledged that the Iron weren’t fully dialed in emotionally and mentally against the Dragons.

“Those first-round games are hard because one of nerves,” Konopasek said

The team faltered some on defense in the first set, struggling to dig against the Dragons’ attack, allowing Pekin to record a “number of kills” and keep the score much closer than the coach would have liked.

But by the second, the coach said, the Iron had “settled in.”

Critical in tonight’s rematch will be shutting down Minooka’s offense, which boasts the unique challenge of two left-handed hitters.

Tasked with stopping that challenge will be Maya Blumenshine, Maggie Michaels and Whitfield, “pretty tenacious” players, Konopasek said, who “do a really good job of covering the court.”

That tenacity will be put to the test, as the Indians have “some girls who can swing,” Konopasek said.

One thing the Iron won’t have to worry about this season is Minooka’s Brass siblings, a trio that Konopasek saw as the Iron’s biggest threats during last year’s contest.

The elder Brass siblings graduated, while Brooklynne Brass transferred to Lisle’s Benet Academy, where she plays for Redwings, the fifth-ranked team in the nation.

The Indians, though, Konopasek said, are an experienced roster and return several athletes from the squad that ended Commnuity’s season last year.

“We need to stay sharp,” the coach said.

The Iron were sharp when they faced the Indians earlier this season, handing Minooka a 2-0 loss on Aug. 31.

That victory should inspire confidence, Konopasek said, but Community has no room to underestimate Minooka, a factor that she thinks may have contributed to last season’s loss.

“I don’t know if it was that we had overlooked [them] or set our sights too high,” looking at the next round of the playoffs, Konopasek said, “or whatever it was.”

Konopasek is sure of one thing this season, focusing on tonight’s opponent and only tonight’s: We are “looking at [this] game before we look out past anything else.”

The winner of tonight’s matchup will face the victor of the Normal West vs. Moline matchup in the Sectional Semifinals on Nov. 5 at Normal West.