Roadrunners Outlast Ocelots to Win Tournament Play-In

The Southwestern Michigan College volleyball team took down Schoolcraft in a five set thriller play-in match 25-19, 25-18, 16-25, 18-25, and 18-16 to earn the #7 seed in the Great Lakes District A Tournament.

"This team has fought so incredibly hard to get here since the day we started our season," said Coach Jenny Nate. "They are an intense, determined, resilient group of all freshmen who can beat any opponent when they play with confidence, trust, energy, and remember to have fun out there. We have learned to play through so much adversity the past couple months, and they have truly embraced being the underdogs. It makes them fight that much harder. Tonight, Faith Rankin went down with a back injury, and despite a sudden lineup change, they rallied together to pull out the win; and it was a point-for-point battle. I reminded them that this is what great teams do - they find a way to win no matter what circumstances they face. I told them in the fourth set that they we were going to win this match and that it would be a great story. And they did exactly that. Now, we have to get some rest, and we will be up bright and early reviewing film to prepare to take on the number one seed, Grand Rapids Community College, tomorrow at 6 pm.

The Roadrunners were 5-7 in conference play and are now 13-18 overall with at least two more games to play in double-elimination format. 

Leading scorers:
Emma Beckman 14 points, 2 aces
Bianca Hobson 12 points, 3 aces
Nikki Nate 9 points
Briana Russell 6 points
Cadence Knight 5 points, 1 ace
Amara Palmer 5 points, 1 ace

Kills:
Bianca Hobson 14
Nikki Nate 13
Faith Rankin 12
Amara Palmer 10
Shayla Shears 8
Emma Beckman 1
Faith Standley 1

Blocks:
Amara Palmer 4
Nikki Nate 4
Bianca Hobson 4
Shayla Shears 3
Emma Beckman 1

Digs:
Cadence Knight 28
Nikki Nate 14
Faith Rankin 9
Bianca Hobson 7
Emma Beckman 6
Amara Palmer 5
Briana Russell 5

Assists:
Emma Beckman 47