By Gabriel Amy
This morning, the Grand Rapids Community College Women’s Volleyball team won their first game in the 2025 NJCAA Division II national Women’s Volleyball tournament.
The Raiders were victorious, sweeping Knoxville’s Pellissippi State Community College in three sets, and GRCC’s faithful were watching back home in Grand Rapids.
Roughly 410 miles away from the Alliant Energy Power House in Cedar Rapids, Iowa, where the national tournament was being hosted, a watch party was held on the Raiders’ home turf in room 213 of the Ford Fieldhouse. Donuts were provided, and the watch party was attended by students, athletes, coaches, and Interim College President Dr. Steven J. Triezenberg, all eager to show support.
The first set of the game was back and forth, being tied at 11 at one point. GRCC was able to pull away, winning 17-25. Though the PSCC Panthers would not go away quietly, leading most of the duration of the second set, their largest lead being by five points (16-18). This would be the largest advantage the Panthers would have all match before the Raiders would claw their way back to win the set 20-25. The final set of the game was all GRCC, never trailing to complete the sweep, winning 21-25.
The Raiders advance in the tournament, facing Kansas City, Kansas Community College tonight at 6:30 p.m. EST. Anyone who wishes to tune in can find information here https://www.njcaa.org/network/championships/vb-dii
After the game, Men’s Basketball head coach and Assistant Athletic Administrator Joe Fox spoke on the importance of supporting fellow athletic programs.
“It’s one of my favorite parts of the job,” Fox said. “It’s why I like working here full-time and not just being the basketball coach. You get to know so many of the student athletes, so many of them do such a great job, you know, balancing their school work and their athletics and just being a part of the Raider family. So any chance I get to support one of the other programs, I try to.”
Coach Fox and his squad travel to Flint to face Mott Community College tonight at 7:30. The coach says he will be checking on the score of the volleyball game at halftime.
