By James Herold
For the 12th time in the history of the program, the now 26-3 GRCC Raiders are Regional Champions. They will advance to the National Junior College Athletic Association Division II National Tournament where they will await their opponent and seeding via a decision by the NJCAA.
The No.6 ranked team in the National Junior College Athletic Association Division II Poll, the Grand Rapids Community College women’s volleyball team took on the No. 1 ranked team in NJCAA Division II Poll, the Mott Community College Bears.
GRCC won the first game against Mott on Nov 3, 3-1 (25-20, 25-19, 20-25, 25-17) in four sets. The first two set wins by the Raiders were close by five or six points but in the third set, the Bears took the set by five. GRCC regained control in the fourth set, winning by eight.
GRCC freshman outside hitter Lizzie Macintosh led the team with 20 kills, and had 14 digs. Outside hitter freshman Braelyn Berry and freshman setter Carle Bruggema led the team with two aces. Bruggema also had 26 assists. Freshman right/outside hitter Ava Schultz led the team with three blocks.
Sophomore libero Vienna Koenigsknecht led the team with 26 digs. Koenigsknecht was also recognized for achieving 600 career digs after her performance on Friday.
In the second game, on Nov. 4, GRCC beat Mott 3-0 (25-23, 25-23, 25-18) in three sets. GRCC dominated all 3 sets, winning the first two sets by two points, GRCC then won the third set by 7.
MacIntosh, similar to game one, led the game in kills, this time with a match-high 16. She would later become the tournament’s most valuable player and set two more career highs. The former Rockford High School Ram, had zero hitting errors for the first time in her career and hit a career high .593%. Macintosh also hit the 300-kill milestone mark.
Sophomore setter Alyssa Wierenga and sophomore setter Autumn Cole led with two aces. Freshman outside, right side, middle player, Sophia Ritsema, freshman middleblocker Lillian Peterson, and freshman middle blocker Maureen Winstanley all led the team with two blocks. Cole led with 23 assists, and Koenigsknecht led with 25 digs. Koenigsknecht had zero reception errors for the 12th time this season.
The decision on who GRCC will play in the championship tournament will be announced on Nov. 9 via the NJCAA Network and the NJCAA Volleyball Twitter account. The series is scheduled to begin Nov. 15 and end Nov. 18 at Alliant Energy PowerHouse (AEP) Arena in Cedar Rapids, Iowa.
