Wallace State volleyball begins play Thursday at NJCAA Division I national tournament
CASPER, WYO. – Wallace State volleyball’s sixth consecutive appearance at the National Junior College Athletic Association (NJCAA) Division I tournament begins Thursday at the Casper Events Center in Wyoming.
Wallace State, seeded No. 16, will play top-seeded Iowa Western during their first-round match. It begins at 2 p.m. CST and can be seen live on njcaatv.com.
The Lions (35-8) are making their sixth straight and state-best 15th overall appearance at the NJCAA Division I tournament after a perfect run through the Alabama Community College Conference (ACCC) regular season and tournament. Wallace State, which didn’t lose a single game to a league foe, defeated Gadsden State in the conference title match on Nov. 2 to earn another national bid.
Wallace State returns to the court Thursday against the top-ranked Reivers, who are 42-1 and the District D representative.
“Iowa Western is the best team in the nation for a reason,” said Wallace State coach Randy Daniel, who has engineered the six straight appearances. “We’re not going to be intimidated though. We’ve played a lot of tough opponents this season. We’re going to give it our all, be aggressive and see what happens.”
Wallace State is led on the front line by its sophomore duo of Syretha Pride and BreAnna Thompson.
Pride was named the 2014 ACCC Player of the Year after leading the conference with 495 kills, 178 blocks and a .567 hitting percentage. She was also named to the conference all-tournament team.
Thompson, who was the conference tournament MVP, has racked up 406 kills and 62 blocks this season.
Alexandra Gamble leads the Lions with 692 assists, while Sarah Ellen Battles has collected a team-high 492 digs. Sophomore Montana Clark has added 485 digs and 145 kills.
For more information about Wallace State athletics, visit wallacestate.edu.
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Russell Moore
Staff Writer
Wallace State Community College
P.O. Box 2000, Hanceville, AL 35077
1-866-350-9722 256-352-8443 direct
Russell.Moore@wallacestate.edu
Visit us online at www.wallacestate.edu