Volleyball wins Southern Region title; NWAACCs to follow

The MHCC Saints volleyball team will enter next week’s NWAACC championships energized by winning their third outright Southern Region title under head coach Chelsie Speer and finishing the season undefeated in conference play (10-0).

The championship tournament will give the Saints an opportunity to defend their title on their own court. The NWAACC tournament is scheduled to go from Nov. 15 through Nov. 18, all at MHCC’s Gresham campus.

As the first seed out of the South Region, the Saints will face Wentachee Valley, the fourth-place squad from the Eastern region (7-7 in regional play; 14-17 overall), in their first game of the tournament Thursday at 2 p.m.

Two road wins topped off another successful Saints regular season. First was a trip to Clackamas. Winning all three games, the Saints dominated the Cougars for the second time this season (25-23, 25-18, 25-11).

Several individuals stood out in Friday’s victory, including freshman hitter Tori Kemper, who had a game high 15 kills. Sophomore setter Alyssa Hall added 24 assists on the night, and as a team, MHCC out-blocked Clackamas eight to three.

The final game of the regular season came Wednesday night in Salem against the Chemeketa Storm. Earlier this season, MHCC had no issues against the fourth-place Storm but that wasn’t the case Wednesday as Chemeketa came to play.

After falling behind 23-14, the Storm valiantly fought back to tie it up. However, the Saints would “weather” the Storm and win the the first game 29-27. Kemper had a game high 19 kills, hitting .372 on the night to go along with 20 digs.

Hall assisted on 33 balls, and freshman Keely Siegel had “a great blocking game for us,” according to Speer. Games two and three weren’t nearly as close (25-15, 25-19) as MHCC finished their regular season perfect in regional play (10-0; 29-9 overall). This title goes along with a co-championship last season, giving Speer four regional titles in as many seasons.

NWAACC honors have yet to be handed out, but with a 10-0 record, there are sure to be a few familiar names after last night’s coaches meeting, determining the standout players from this season.

But, Speer warned, regular season honors aren’t important right now. “At this point, everyone is 0-0. It’s a new season,” she said. “We can’t take anyone lightly being a number one seed,” she said regarding the NWAACC tournament.

Advocate Staff