NJCAA VOLLEYBALL TOURNAMENT: Cards fall in five in opener at nationals

Meehan shines, but NIC drops into consolation bracket

CASPER, Wyo. — Entering the NJCAA volleyball tournament with nothing to lose, the 10th-seeded North Idaho Cardinals went for it.

Unfortunately, it didn’t work out.

Sophomore outside hitter Brenna Meehan had 22 kills and nine digs for the North Idaho Cardinals in a 16-25, 25-22, 25-22, 27-29, 15-13 loss to Missouri State-West Plains in the opening round of the NJCAA volleyball tournament on Thursday at the Casper Events Center.

“She came out on fire and was just unreal today,” second-year NIC coach Kelsey Stanley said of Meehan. “She was our go-to, gamechanger, and definitely the reason we went five games. She had a great game and they couldn’t stop her either.”

Matilda Altin had 17 kills, Brittany Gay 63 assists and 12 digs, Penny Gwynn 13 kills and 12 digs and Hannah Christianson 19 digs for NIC (20-14).

“In that fourth game, it showed how we’d been all year,” Stanley said. “The girls just kept pushing and pushing. I’m proud of how they played. They showed a lot of heart and didn’t back down.”

Pulotu Manoa had 24 kills and 13 digs for Missouri State-West Plains (26-9), which lost in the quarterfinals against Western Nebraska.

“We’ve been in a fifth game a lot this year,” Stanley said. “We had nothing to lose heading into the tournament. I just told them to go out and swing away. Unfortunately, they had a few runs and we weren’t able to catch up.”

NIC will face Yavapai (22-7), which lost to Western Nebraska 25-13, 25-13, 25-20 on Thursday, today in a loser-out match. The best the Cardinals can finish is ninth.

NJCAA TOURNAMENT

at Casper Events Center

Thursday’s matches

Opening round

Northwest College d. Hill 25-20, 25-19, 25-18

Polk State d. San Jacinto-Central 25-21, 25-22, 25-15

Missouri State-West Plains d. North Idaho 16-25, 25-22, 25-22, 27-29, 15-13

Western Nebraska d. Yavapai 25-13, 25-13, 25-20

Southern Idaho d. Frank Phillips 25-17, 27-25, 25-19

Blinn College d. Central Florida 25-23, 23-25, 25-15, 20-25, 15-8

Hillsborough vs. Wallace State 25-18, 25-11, 25-18

Iowa Western vs. Hutchinson 26-24, 25-21, 25-17

Second round

Northwest d. Polk State 21-25, 26-24, 25-21, 25-15

Western Nebraska d. Missouri State-West Plains 25-19, 22-25, 25-20, 25-21

Southern Idaho d. Blinn 25-21, 25-17, 27-25

Hillsborough d. Iowa Western 27-25, 25-21, 25-23

Friday’s matches

Consolation matches

Match 13 — No. 14 Hill (31-11) vs. No. 11 San Jacinto-Central (28-14), 9 a.m. (loser out)

Match 14 — No. 10 North Idaho (21-14) vs. No. 15 Yavapai (22-7), 9. (loser out)

Match 15 — No. 16 Frank Phillips (35-5) vs. No. 8 Central Florida (26-13), 11. (loser out)

Match 16 — No. 12 Wallace State (40-7) vs. No. 13 Hutchinson (31-9), 11. (loser out)

Championship bracket

Match 17 — No. 6 Polk State (23-11) vs. No. 7 Missouri State-West Plains (26-10), 1:30. (loser out)

Match 18 — No. 9 Blinn (30-11) vs. No. 4 Iowa Western (40-8), 1:30. (loser out)

Match 19 — Winner Match 13 vs. Winner Match 14, 3:30

Match 20 — Winner Match 15 vs. Winner Match 16, 3:30

Match 21 — No. 3 Northwest (33-4) vs. No. 2 Western Nebraska (41-4), 5:30 (semifinal)

Match 22 — No. 1 Southern Idaho (33-3) vs. No. 5 Hillsborough (32-5), 5:30 (semifinal)