GRCC volleyball season ends at nationals with loss to WSCC-H
By James Herold
The No. 6 ranked Grand Rapids Community College women’s volleyball team took on No. 11 ranked Wallace State Community College-Hanceville and got swept 3-0 (26-28, 18-25, 20-25) in three sets in Cedar Rapids, Iowa.
It was not the ending to the season that the Raiders had hoped for but there are a lot of things GRCC can be proud of this season. In this phenomenal 26-5 season for the Raiders, there were three championship wins, a 24-match winning streak, a top-10 national ranking, and eight players that received post-season rewards.
GRCC battled 26-6 Wallace State who a year ago was a National Junior College Athletic Association Division I member, The Raiders had an 18-9 lead in the first set and a set point but the Lions proved to be too tough, winning 28-26 in the first set, and then the final two sets, 25-18, and 25-20.
Sophomore Outside hitter Braelyn Berry led the Raiders with 10 kills and two aces in the loss, which was just the fifth all season, and the fourth coming to teams in the national tournament.
Sophomores setter Autumn Cole and libero Vienna Koenigsknecht also ended their Raider careers on a good note. Cole led the team with 14 assists and Koenigsknecht led the team with 24 digs, which was her fourth match in a row with 20 or more digs.
Freshman setter Carle Bruggema topped 700 career assists and her and Cole helped the Raider team to average the second most assists in the nation, with 12.28% per set.
The 2023 season included the team’s 12th conference title, 10th Michigan Community College Athletic Association title and 12th regional title. It also included a final NJCAA DII ranking of sixth and eight players that received post-season rewards.
Berry was named Conference Player of the Year after leading the team in kills, aces and was second in digs.
Berry, freshman outside hitter Lizzie MacIntosh, and freshman middle blocker Lilly Peterson were all named First Team All-Conference and to the All-MCCAA team. Koenigsknecht received First Team All-Conference honors. Freshman outside hitter Sophia Ritsema was named Second Team All-Conference. Cole, Bruggema and freshman right setter Ava Schultz were named All-Conference Honorable Mention. MacIntosh and Peterson were also named to the Northern Conference All-Freshman team. And after a great performance at regionals, MacIntosh was named the tournament’s most valuable player, while Berry and Koenigsknecht joined her on the All-Tournament team.
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Final MCCAA Volleyball Standings
