Cyclones finish 5th in the Nation
The Cyclones traveled to the National NJCAA Volleyball Tournament held in Rochester, MN November 9-11th. The Cyclones were seeded 5th and their first opponent was the 4 seed, Columbus State Community College from Ohio.
The Cyclones started off timid but battled, however, fell 1-3; 19-25, 16-25, 25-20, 22-25. Kyra Harvey, sophomore outside hitter from Sauk Rapids, led in kills with 21, Kalli Mathiasen, sophomore setter from Apollo, ran the offense with 46 set assists. Chelsea Schroeder, sophomore libero from Rocori, led in digs with 24. McKayla Quade, sophomore middle from Paynesville, earned 4 blocks.
Queensborough Community College from New York were the Cyclones' next challenge. The Cyclones earned a 3-1 win; 25-23, 20-25, 25-18, 25-22. Kalie Jergens, outside hitter from Becker, led in kills with 15. Mathiasen had 41 set assists while Schroeder earned 20 digs. Anastasia Larson, first year middle from Big Lake, and Quade held strong at the net with 5 blocks each.
That win advanced the Cyclones to the 5th place match where they faced Northampton Community College from Pennsylvania. The Cyclones earned 5th place at the National Tournament with a 3-2 victory; 30-28, 22-25, 25-18, 20-25, 15-13. Jergens led with 20 kills while Mathiasen earned 36 set assists. Jergens and Schroeder each produced 18 digs while Larson had 6 blocks.
Kalie Jergens earned National All-Tournament Team recognition.
The Cyclones finished the season at 5th in the Nation with a 25-7 record. The Cyclones broke several records this year and have much to be proud of, with new hardware to prove it.
Coach Heidi Smith, in her 7th season, is very proud of this team. "We worked through challenges with the mind-set of being great teammates and focusing on our goals. I want to thank our returning sophomores, McKayla Quade, Chelsea Schroeder, Kalli Mathiasen and Kalie Jergens, for their wonderful leadership, hard work and dedication. I also want to thank our athletics support staff, Nate Hiestand and Missy Majarus, for their support and dedication to our student athletes and athletics. We could not be successful without their continuous support!"