3 hours Ago By Skyler Jackson
CEDAR RAPIDS, IA — For the first time ever, the Minnesota West volleyball team will play for a national championship on Saturday. The No. 2 seed Lady Jays (35-4) have run the table through the semifinals of their first-ever NJCAA Division III Volleyball Championship appearance, clinching a berth in the title match with a sweep over the College of DuPage Chaparrals, who won the title in 2022.
ADVERTISEMENT Minnesota West of head coach Brittney McNab got it done by set scores of 25-23, 25-20, 25-15 Friday at the Alliant Energy Powerhouse Arena and overcame deficits in the first two sets to do it. Now comes their toughest test of the tournament in top seed and reigning national champion Dallas College Eastfield. Coming off an undefeated 35-0 season last year, the Harvester Bees have again been dominant in their title defense, going 33-1 en route to their second-straight championship match.
They’ve been the No. 1 team in the nation all year and like the Lady Jays, have not dropped a set in the national tournament. After wins over Harrisburg Area and Owens in the first two rounds, their semifinal win came in a sweep Friday over Century College in a rematch of last year’s championship.
The set scores were 25-14, 25-16, 25-19. Dallas Eastfield leads the nation in kills per set with just under 14 and assists per set at just over 13. Two of the nation’s top 20 leaders in kills are on the team in McKenzie Anderson (313) and Brently Walker (304).
Their setter, Taryn Doiron, also leads the nation in assists with 1170. The Harvester Bees are chasing history Saturday as a win would make them the eighth program to win back-to-back D3 titles since 1996. It would also be the team’s third championship overall, winning in 2017 and 2023.
ADVERTISEMENT But they’ll be going against a Lady Jays team going for history of their own — the program’s first-ever national championship in volleyball. They are also among the nation’s leaders in multiple areas. Minnesota West leads the nation in total kills (1,641) and assists (1,585), while also being second nationally in total digs (2,650).
The Jays also have two of the nation’s top 15 leaders in kills with Ella Hesse ranking sixth with 367 and Sadie Krahling tying for 12th with 321. Setter Lexi Schreurs is third nationally in assists with 1,066 and libero Kadyn Paulson is sixth in digs with 576. Both teams are also in the top 10 in hitting percentage with Dallas Eastfield ranking third (.
267) and Minnesota West seventh (.220). The Lady Jays have gotten through their three tournament matches in pretty straightforward fashion, sweeping all three of them with the latest coming in an earlier-season rematch with DuPage.
The first set was close the whole way through as neither side gained a lead bigger than four points. The Lady Jays quickly grabbed a four-point lead as Krahling started the match with back-to-back kills. ADVERTISEMENT The Chaparrals scored four-straight to tie the set at five and after that, the rest of the set was back and forth.
There were 10 lead changes and nine ties until DuPage took a 21-17 lead and momentum. A Krahling kill started an 8-2 run to close the set in Minnesota West’s favor. Kate Slettum was solid serving during that stretch as she helped draw three-straight attack errors.
Claire Bohlen also had the hot hand in the final 10 points with four kills, including the one that won the set. She led that first set with five kills with Krahling and Hesse each adding four. The second set had some early momentum swings until the Lady Jays took control near the end again.
A DuPage service error gave West the first point. The Chaparrals kept it even early as two Skylar Huffman kills each tied the set. She had four in that second set and a match-leading 12 overall.
After being tied 6-6, they scored four of the next five off Minnesota West errors to grab a three-point margin. West then tied it at 12 before Bohlen again led them on a run, spiking four kills in a six-point stretch to guide the Jays to an 18-13 lead. They wouldn’t let go of that lead for the rest of the set.
They maintained a safe lead until Krahling’s fourth kill of the set gave West a 2-0 lead. With momentum all on their side, the Lady Jays then had their most efficient and lopsided set of the match. ADVERTISEMENT They grabbed a fast 4-1 lead off the back of Chaparral errors.
Leading through the entire set, Minnesota West’s lead got as big as nine points late in the set as its continued well-balanced effort showed. In the end, a kill from Ally Nelson that just clipped the line sent Minnesota West to the championship match and DuPage into a battle for third place. The Lady Jays finished with a .
195 hitting percentage, including .375 in the third set. Bohlen and Krahling each totaled a team-leading 10 kills with Nelson adding nine and Hesse eight.
Schreurs passed for 37 assists and led the team with 13 digs. Hesse added 12 digs, Paulson 10 and Lydia Moore six. Schreurs, Bohlen and Abby Loosbrock each hit an ace serve as well.
Huffman led the Chaparrals with 12 kills and added 10 digs. The nation’s second-ranked kills leader Josephine Becker had another 10 with Francesca Brandonisio getting 16 digs and Ava Diaz passing for 21 assists. The championship match will be at 6:30 p.
m. Saturday and can be livestreamed on the NJCAA Network. Consolation matches will start that morning at 10 a.
m..
