Volleyball team competes in nationals

By Michael Leek
Sports Editor

The LCC volleyball team participated in the NJCAA National Tournament for the first time in the school’s history Nov. 15 and 16 in Cedar Rapids, Iowa. The Stars were eliminated from the tournament after two hard-fought matches.

In the first match, the Stars played against Walters State Community College of Tennessee on Wednesday, Nov. 15 and lost 3-0. The scores were 25-20, 25-20 and 25-17.

The second match the Stars played was against North Dakota State College of Science on Thursday, Nov. 16. LCC lost in a hard-fought five-game match, 3-2. In the first game the Stars won 25-21. They lost the second 25-5 and lost the third 25-13. LCC then won the fourth game 25-18 before losing in the fifth and deciding game, 15-4.

Sophomore Alex Widner LCC led in kills in the match against Walters State with eight, and also in the second match against North Dakota State with 11.

Sophomore Danika Fyan contributed offensively as well for LCC with six kills in the first match. Freshman Anna Hoch and sophomore Ella Didion finished the second match with eight kills.

Defensively, sophomore Macey Beyerlein put on a clinic, finishing the first match with 14 digs and the second with 28.

Head Coach Emily Quintero said it was a great opportunity for the team.

“I think they enjoyed it,” Quintero said. “They got to see some great volleyball and got to have that once-in-a-lifetime experience.

Beyerlein added: “It was surreal. It was so organized and official. It felt like a dream being there.”

The competition at nationals was much better that what the Stars faced most of the season, Beyerlein said.

“There was a lot longer rallies with tougher serving and hitting,” Beyerlein said. “Every point we had to earn; there were no freebies.”

Despite the tough losses in nationals, Quintero said the season went phenomenal for the team and she is very proud of her players. The team finished with an overall match record of 30-5.

“They worked hard and bought into our program, and they persevered executing the plan,” Quintero said. “Almost everyone accomplished the goals that they set out to do.”

Emotions were high after nationals, as that was the time the sophomores would play for LCC.

“It was so sad,” Beyerlein said. “I’ve been playing volleyball for almost 10 years now, so it was heartbreaking for it to be over, but I couldn’t have asked for a better team, season, coaching staff and support system to end with. It was definitely the best season I could have wanted as my last.”