Volleyball makes a surprise early exit

The number-one-ranked NIC volleyball team was bounced from the NWAC Championship on the first day of play Thursday night.

The Cards (16-0, 27-5) were undefeated in conference play and hadn’t lost a game since Sept. 14, when they were defeated 3-1 by Spokane in a mid-season tournament.

The Cards first match was a 3-1 loss against Tacoma (6-6, 16-11), a team they previously beat 2-1 in the preseason. The match quickly got out of hand, and saw NIC score their least amount of points in a set in their 11-25 first set loss. Slow starts have plagued NIC in previous match-ups, but it proved to be catastrophic for the Cards, who looked out of sorts in their first match in almost two weeks. 

NIC battled back and took the second set 26-24, but were unable to hold back Tacoma, who took the next two sets 25-19, 25-21.

NIC was then put into the lower bracket of the double elimination tournament, and were again upset, this time by Bellevue (8-4, 28-17), a team they also beat 2-1 in the preseason.

The Cards again were jumped on early in the first set and were defeated 16-25. NIC managed to come back and tie the game after taking the second set 25-17, but lost a heartbreaking 15-17 decisive third set.

The early exit was a surprise for a team that looked to have a realistic shot at winning the NWAC tournament after an incredible undefeated regular season that featured two wins over the eventual champion Spokane.

While their post-season play may have been a disappointment, NIC figures to have a solid team heading into next season. The Cards will lose key players such as NWAC all-stars Kynzey Mitzel and Chloe Knudson, as well as Hannah McPhetridge and Monique Johnson to graduation. Players like all-stars Journey Tupea and Hokulea Vargas should flourish in their second season under East Region Coach of the Year Kelsey Stanley.