After a successful regular season campaign, the Grand Rapids Community College volleyball team continued their winning ways into the postseason, winning the MCCAA Championship, after defeating Mott Community College and Lansing Community College. The championship marks the fourth season in the row the Raiders were able to accomplish this feat.
GRCC vs Mott
On Saturday, Nov. 2 during the first match of the afternoon, GRCC faced Mott Community College, a team they had not yet faced this season, but took on twice last year, winning both times.
Mott got off to a fast start against the Raiders, winning the first set 25-17. It was the first set the Raiders had lost since Oct. 6 against Southwestern Michigan College, where they lost by a narrow 25-23 score. GRCC responded in the second set, winning 25-21 to even the game at 1-1.
GRCC continued their dominance in the third and fourth sets, winning 25-22 and 25-16, respectively. The win confirmed the Raiders spot in the conference final where they’d face Lansing Community College.
Against Mott, freshman Taylor Kik led the team with 19 kills, sophomore Lizzie MacIntosh was right behind Kik with 17 kills of her own. Sophomore Carle Bruggema led the team in assists with 29, freshman Ava Tarsi added 23 assists of her own.
GRCC vs Lansing
The final conference game came down to the wire between the two teams who were yet to face each other this season. Later in the afternoon, GraGRCC won the last matchup between the two in a 3-0 sweep last season.
Lansing was able to win the first two sets, the first the Raiders lost two sets in a game since Sept. 17 against Delta College. Lansing registered a .400 hitting percentage in the first set to GRCC’s .088 hitting percentage. A substantial difference which led to Lansing’s first set win.
The Raiders found their groove in the third set, winning 25-20 with their backs against the wall. The winning continued into the fourth set, as the Raiders won 25-16, forcing a fifth and final set to determine the conference champion.
The Raiders did not commit an error in the fifth set, having 11 kills on 25 total attempts to come out with a .440 hitting percentage. Not committing an error helped the Raiders overcome their 2-0 deficit, winning the fifth set 15-11 to secure the conference championship for the fourth season in a row.
The Raiders continue further into the postseason with the team taking on Macomb Community College in the Great Lakes B District Tournament on Thursday, Nov. 4 at 4 p.m. in Port Huron. The Raiders will look to punch their ticket to the NJCAA Division II National Tournament which will take place from Nov. 20 – Nov. 23 in Cedar Rapids, Iowa.
