Women’s Club Volleyball team wins NCVF national tournament, men finish as runners-up
The North Dakota State University women’s club volleyball team won the 2023 National Collegiate Volleyball Federation (NCVF) tournament held in Kansas City, Mo. this past weekend. The men’s squad finished in second place. Both teams competed at the Division II level in the federation tournament’s silver bracket. The NCVF is the lead organization for club volleyball at the intercollegiate level.
In the first round of pool play, the women defeated John Carroll University and Slippery Rock but were defeated by Elon University to finish 2-1.
The NDSU women’s club volleyball team won the National Collegiate Volleyball Federation (NCVF) national tournament held in Kansas City, Mo. this weekend. Photo Courtesy | NDSU Women’s Club Volleyball
After advancing to the semis, they beat Missouri State in three sets, 25-23, 21-25 and 15-12 to advance to the championship. In the championship round, the Bison defeated Gonzaga in another three-set thriller, 27-25, 21-25 and 15-12.
While the women’s team does not participate in a conference, they play an at-large schedule that includes club programs from Minnesota and Wisconsin. The women won a qualifying tournament in Minneapolis, Minn., earlier this season, hosted by the University of Minnesota, to qualify for the national tournament. The Bison women were led by Mekenzie Whaley in kills and Ciarra Weber in digs.
Meanwhile, on the men’s side, the 18th-ranked Bison also went competed in pool play. The Bison opened with a two-set victory over Williams College 26-24 and 25-23 and beat San Francisco University in three sets, 25-22, 18-25 and 16-14. Wins over Trinity University and Case Western Reserve University earned them a spot in bracket play. An opening-round loss to St. Olaf (MN) in bracket play might have spelled doom for the men, however, the Bison still had a higher overall point differential percentage which kept them as the #2 seed in the silver bracket.
The NDSU men’s club volleyball team finished in second place at the 2023 National Collegiate Volleyball Federation (NCVF) tournament in Kansas City, Mo. last weekend. Photo Courtesy | NDSU Men’s Volleyball Club
Leading the way for the men was outside hitter Isaac Stauffacher, who made the NVC All-Conference team and had the best kill percentage on the team while also collecting the most kills. Setter Marcus Mack recorded the highest total assists.
Team President, and middle hitter Paul Schmitz, had the most blocks, while libero Jackson Ernst had the most digs and aces on the season.
For more information on the club volleyball programs, you can go to the men’s Facebook page at NDSU Men’s Volleyball Club Group or follow on Instagram @ndsumensvbc.
You can follow the women on their Facebook page at NDSU Women’s Club Volleyball.