The Central Community College volleyball team fell to the North Dakota State College of Science in the best-of-three Northwest Plains District Championship, 2-1. The Raiders made it to the district final by winning the Region 9 title while the Wildcats punched their ticket by winning Region 13. A brief recap of each match is below.

Match 1

The Wildcats shut out the Raiders, 3-0. The final scores were 25-20, 25-23 and 25-17.

"We just couldn't get into a rhythm on offense and force NDSCS into any type of pressure," said CCC head coach Mary Young. "NDSCS played exceptional, and we had far too many errors to earn the win."

Match 2

The Raiders evened the series, 1-1, with a 3-0 victory over the Wildcats. The final scores were 25-23, 25-19 and 25-21. CCC's win set up a winner-take-all finale with the winner receiving a ticket to the NJCAA Division II Volleyball National Tournament.

"I can't say enough about our grit and ability to battle back from a hard loss on Friday to earn a sweep and put us in position to force the final match of the series," said Young.

Match 3

The Raiders looked as though they might advance to the national tournament as they won the first two sets, 25-22 and 25-22. However, the Wildcats shut down a shutout with a 25-21 win in the third set, followed by a 25-16 victory in the fourth set. In the decisive fifth set, the Wildcats held off the Raiders, 15-10, to earn a ticket to the national tournament.

"I'm so proud of this team and how hard the players worked and how they represented Central Community College," said Young. "They grew so much in three short months and adapted to a new coaching staff with grace and a lot of trust. It really stings right now to have it all come to an end because we fought so hard, and we were in position to make it happen."

Young also mentioned how proud she is of her five sophomores – Michaela Dukes, Khloe Felker, Chloe Odbert, Emily Otten and Rachel Otten.

"They brought the region championship back to Central and have been such a pleasure to coach," said Young.

The Raiders finished the season with a 20-19 mark.