Grizzly Volleyball advances to NJCAA district tournament
The Missouri State University-West Plains (MSU-WP) Grizzly Volleyball team has advanced to the NJCAA Midwest A District Championship Tournament this weekend in Ottumwa, Iowa.
The Grizzlies, 16-17 overall, will face the Vincennes University Trailblazers in the semifinals at 1 p.m. Saturday, Nov. 4, at the Hellyer Student Life Center on the campus of Indian Hills Community College in Ottumwa.
The other semifinal game, set for 11 a.m. Saturday, will feature the host team, the 18th-ranked Indian Hills Warriors, and the winner of Wednesday's Region 4 Championship between Kennedy-King College and Malcolm X.
The district championship game will be at 5 p.m. Saturday.
Games can be streamed at GoHillsTV.com.
Results of Region 16 championship
The Grizzlies' trip to districts was determined by the outcome of the Region 16 Championship Volleyball Tournament this past Saturday, Oct. 28, on the campus of Jefferson College in Hillsboro.
The Grizzlies, seeded first in the event, fell to third seeded Mineral Area College (MAC) 2-3 in the championship game. The scores were 15-25, 25-17, 25-13, 21-25, 8-15.
The region winner advanced to the NJCAA Midwest B District Championship Tournament while the runner up advanced to the Midwest A District Championship.
The winners of each district championship will advance to the NJCAA Division I Women's National Volleyball Championship Tournament Nov. 15-18 in Hutchinson, Kansas.
A difficult loss
Grizzly Volleyball Head Coach Paty Figueiredo said losing to MAC in the region championship has been difficult to process. "We had beaten MAC 3-2 the last time we played them. We expected it to be a very competitive game where serving well and reducing errors would be the key to the title," she explained.
The Grizzlies alternated between good and bad moments throughout the game before MAC forced a fifth set, she said.
"We went into the fifth set struggling with our serve receive and distribution of our sets. MAC played better and more consistently and took the fifth set," she said.
"Their outside and right-side hitters played very consistently throughout the game and made the right decisions," she added. "Their setter's distribution was very successful leaving us with just one block and our defense out of position. MAC fought harder and was more consistent throughout the match.
"Now we move on to the Midwest A District and Vincennes in our first game at Indian Hills. We have been preparing hard and know we can win the district title," Figueiredo said.
For more information about the Grizzly Volleyball team, visit its website at MSUWPGrizzlies.com.