The Grand Rapids Community College volleyball team played for ninth place in the National Junior College Athletic Association national tournament Saturday, Nov. 19, in Charleston, West Virginia.
The team lost their match to Johnson County College 3-1, placing them as 10th in the nation in the NJCAA Div II rankings.
“It’s a really cool thing,” said Freshman Defensive Specialist Kennedy Potts. “When you look back at what we’ve done on the season, it’s cool to say that we’re 10th in the nation, as not many people can say that.”
Against Johnson County, however, the Raiders were not meeting the level of play that Johnson County was at.
“It was a tough game to play,” Potts said. “Playing three games before in a short amount of time, sleeping eight hours from home, eating out all the time and being tired, we didn’t play as well as we needed to.”
The team was behind Johnson County in important statistics such as kill percentage with GRCC at 14 percent and Johnson County at 24 percent, number of assists with GRCC at 46 and Johnson County at 58 and number of digs with GRCC at 70 and Johnson County at 87.
Johnson County “played really well and really clean,” Potts said. “They did a really good job with ball movement and made our blockers work harder than normal.”
Potts has high hopes for GRCC. With the team finishing 10th, she thinks they have a good chance to win a title next year.
“They’re gonna build the program and work for a title next year,” Potts said. “(Coaches) Chip and David are really good at what they do.”
As far as leadership goes, the sophomores “had good leadership and were great role models,” Potts said. “They led by example and made the season fun.”
The team’s season has come to an end, with the team finishing 28-8 through the regular season and postseason, staying undefeated, 16-0, in conference during the regular season and finishing 10th in the nation after making it back to the NJCAA Div II national tournament, while missing the tournament last season due to losing in the regional tournament to Muskegon Community College 3-2.
