Coyotes outlast Odessa, take 9th at nationals
WC finishes the season at 32-8, 86-22 over three years.
Weatherford College finished the national volleyball tournament on a high Saturday, climbing out of an 0-2 hole to beat a higher-seeded rival from Texas, and finishing ninth in the nation.
WC (32-8) beat Odessa College (30-10) in five sets on the final day of the NJCAA Division I National Tournament, held in Clarksville, Tennessee at Austin Peay State University. The match lasted two and a half hours.
It was the fourth meeting this year between the two teams, and the third of the 2024 postseason. WC was the national tournament's nine seed and Odessa the seven.
The Wranglers came out strong in the first set, but a 10-2 run by Weatherford tied the score at 23-23. Odessa broke two more ties and won 27-25.
In the second set, WC had a 13-8 lead, but an Odessa push gave the Wranglers a 25-21 victory.
Odessa jumped out to a 15-7 lead in the third set, but a Wrangler run was stopped by a service ace from WC's Kiana Souza. Then Weatherford went on a run of its own, going 7-0 and taking its first lead at 18-17. A Harmony Soules block was the clincher, and the Coyotes won 25-21.
The fourth set was dominated by the Weatherford front line, and multiple blocks gave WC an 11-4 lead. The Coyotes held on for a 25-17 win.
It all came down to the fifth set. Odessa held a slim advantage until a Gabby Maldonado kill gave WC its first lead since the opening point, and the Coyotes never trailed again. Amelie Shalfoon came off the bench to make several key plays at the net. WC held on for a 15-13 win and the overall victory.
Maldonado led the team with 15 kills and Presleigh Roest contributed 13 with a .423 hitting percentage.
Setters Victoria Sanchez and Lorena Gomez were strong again, turning in 26 and 23 assists respectively.
Kiana Souza had a whopping 40 digs. Sanchez added 11.
Weronika Urbanska was one kill short of a double-double with nine kills and 16 digs.
Later that day, Florida SouthWestern State College defeated Miami Dade College for its third national title in a row. It was also the third straight matchup between the two teams in the final.
Under head coach Kailee May, the WC volleyball program now has an 86-22 overall record with three conference titles and two top-10 national tournament finishes.