WC finishes fourth at national tournament

After an undefeated conference record during the regular season, and winning the National Junior College Athletic Association Region V Tournament at home, Kailee May and the Weatherford College volleyball team finished fourth at the NJCAA DI Volleyball Tournament in Clarksville, Tennessee. The Coyotes final record for the 2025 season is 34-4 overall.

This is the Coyotes' best finish in the four-year history of the program, finishing eighth in 2023 and ninth in 2024.

Coming into the contest as the number two seed, this is also the highest position on the bracket WC has ever been for the national tournament. 

In the semi-finals, the Coyotes faced the three-time national championship Florida Southwestern State College volleyball team on Friday November 21, dropping the match 3-2.

WC had a fierce start in set one, better than previous matches played days prior. The Coyotes went on an 8-1 run at one point, with Weronika Urbanska recording several solid kills. WC won 25-20.

Set two unfortunately saw several unforced errors, including service errors for the black and gold allowing FSW to win 25-22. Set three saw an impressive offensive display by Mirabel Onyegwu, helping the Coyotes break a 17-17 tie. WC went on a 7-0 run to win the set 25-19.

In set four, FSW climbed the ladder with an early 10-2 run to make it 13-6, but WC came in from behind with a 5-0 run of their own. FSW had the set point six times before they could finish it off 25-21.

Despite strong performances from the Coyotes, it was FSW's power hitters that made the difference in set five to win 15-10, and move on to the final event.

Taking third place, Northeastern Junior College (Colorado) defeated the Coyotes 3-2 on Saturday November 22 in Clarksville. 

Northeastern took the first two sets, winning 25-22 and 25-16. With service help from Victoria Sanchez and key attacks from Harmony Soles, Beline Thibaut and Gabbie Maldonado, WC stormed back to win set three 25-12 and four 25-19, outperforming NE in kills 13-8 in the third set. 

Despite an outstanding .310 hitting percentage in the fourth set, Northeastern out hit the Coyotes .308 in the final set to win third place.

"They gave it all they had," said May on the performance of her team during the national tournament. "It's never easy to lose, but it's easier knowing you gave it your all. They've built on the legacy from finishing ninth last year to finishing in the top four this year. It's so impressive…I'm so proud of them."