Via The JOLT News
For two years in a row, the South Puget Sound Community College volleyball team qualified for the Northwest Athletic Conference (NWAC) Volleyball Championship Tournament after finishing a 6-6 win-loss record, just good enough for a playoff spot in the fourth seed of the West Region of the conference.
Last season, the Clippers qualified for the playoffs for the first time with an identical conference record and placement in the West Region.
The Clippers had a great chance to qualify as the second seed in the West, but back-to-back losses to Centralia and Lower Columbia dampened their chances as they fell to fourth. Despite the defeats, the team is still looking at the positives and are hyped now that they have returned to postseason play.
“Against Centralia, it was encouraging... because we played super well,” said Sophomore Outside Hitter Katelynn Wakefield. “That was the first time that we really shined as a team together instead of more individually. I think that carried us into the Lower Columbia game and we knew that it was going to be a hard game. Even if we didn’t get the outcome that we necessarily had hoped for, we still made it to playoffs.”
The Clippers were led by three players selected in the NWAC All-Region Teams. Sophomore hitter, Katelyn White led the Clippers on kills per set with 3.15 at 0.136 hitting percentage, deservingly getting the NWAC First Team All-Region selection in the West.
White was joined by two of her sophomore peers in the NWAC selections. Joining her is Caelyn Marshall, who had a stellar season as a setter, with an average of 4.34 assists per set, which is deemed good enough for a NWAC Second Team All-Region selection in the West, while opposite hitter Brooklyn Thesenvitz is selected in the NWAC Third Team All-Region in the West after averaging a hit percentage of 0.213 in the conference.
The Clippers will face a tough ask in their return to the championship bracket. They are set to face the North Region’s #1 seed, Skagit Valley, who finished the North with a flawless 12-0 record, on November 16 at Mount Vernon, Washington.
“We are a big underdog team, so this is kind of a boost for us just because it’s a lot more fun that way,” added Wakefield. “We can have fun, we can try new things, do what we want, and just end the season together as a team.”