The Raiders Women's Volleyball team traveled to the Rochester Regional Sports Center in Rochester, Minnesota for the first time in program history to compete for the NJCAA DIII National Championship.
In their first match of the tournament, the Lady Raiders would take on the Northampton Spartans out of Pennsylvania.
FMCC vs. Northampton, 3-2 Win; 25-14, 19-25, 19-25, 25-20 & 15-8
The #8 Lady Raiders would enter the biggest stage against the #9 Northampton Spartans on November 10th.
FMCC came out swinging and attacked the net. Deandra Myers dominated the attack with 10 kills. Myers added 10 digs and 2 service aces. Teammate, Madelyn Avery had 14 digs and 6 service aces. Aireana Muhlberger tallied 34 assists and 15 digs.
The Lady Raiders got into a 2-1 deficit but would win the final two sets to advance to play #1 seeded Owens Community College at 5pm.
FMCC vs. Owens, 3-0 Loss; 17-25, 17-25, 18-25.
The Lady Raiders hung tough with Owens but were unable to pull out a victory. Krystal McSpirit led FM with 9 kills and was a problem at the net for Owens. Avery followed with 8 kills and Hailee Thompson and Sadie Blowers had 5 kills apiece.
Defensively, Myers had 10 digs and Muhlberger ran the offense with 27 assists.
The loss would put the Raiders into the consolation bracket of the tournament, where they would battle for the #5-#8 ranking in the country.
FMCC vs. Minnesota State Community & Technical College, 3-0 Loss; 14-25, 20-25, 9-25
This matchup proved to be the toughest one for the Lady Raiders. The Spartans took care of the Lady Raiders in straight sets.
Avery and Myers recorded 5 kills. Alivia Wilson tallied 8 digs and 2 service aces.
The loss would move them into Saturday to play for 7th place against familiar foe, Finger Lakes Community College.
FMCC vs. Finger Lakes, 3-1 Loss; 20-25, 25-20, 18-25
The Lakers got the best of the Raiders in the final match of the season. Krystal McSpirit left it all out on the floor, finishing with 14 kills and 2 blocks. Myers and Avery added 16 digs apiece.
FMCC finished 8th in the NJCAA DIII National Tournament. Madelyn Avery was named to the 2022 NJCAA All-Tournament Team. This finish goes down in history for FMCC women's volleyball.
"The team is very proud of having made the National Tournament and to finish a very respectable 8th place in the country. It was a tremendous experience for the players and coaching staff and one that they will always remember. The team would like to thank the college for all its support throughout the season. A special thank you to Kevin Jones, and Dave Clayton for all the additional support and help in making this possible," said Head Coach Tina Olyer.
There will be some big shoes to fill next season as the Lady Raiders lose 9 sophomores from the squad. This group of talented student-athletes finish their careers in blue and white with a 41-8 record and received several accolades together.
Head Coach Tina Olyer will look to re-load her squad for a highly anticipated fall 2023 volleyball season.
