Third-seeded Lady Saints volleyball begins journey for national title
LIBERAL, Kan. – The Seward County Community College volleyball team's quest for a national title will begin on Thursday morning at the Hutchinson Sports Arena.
The road will be somewhat recognizable. For the second straight season, the Lady Saints are playing for a national title and, along the way, will be playing familiar opponents.
Last season, Seward made it to the Final Four for the first time in the school's history before losing to College of Southern Idaho and then falling to Iowa Western in the consolation game to finish fourth.
If the Lady Saints, who are the third seed, are going to advance in the tournament, they are going to have to defeat some familiar faces. Seward, which is 28-2 and riding a 20-game winning streak, will open the tournament against Hill College, which it beat earlier in the season.
"Two of the teams that we've played earlier in the season are in our bracket – Hill and Miami Dade," said Seward volleyball coach Tony Trifonov. "We're definitely playing Hill, and Miami Dade is a potential opponent. We'll see a rematch and those rematches are always fun. I see several of them in the tournament. The committee has a sense of humor pairing teams that have played during the season."
When the Lady Saints take the court on Thursday, it will have been 10 days since the Lady Saints last played, defeating Colby to win the Region VI championship on November 3. The layoff has been helpful. Trifonov was pleased with the team's final practice and believes they are ready for the tournament.
"We had a really good practice (on Monday)," Trifonov said. "Everybody is really excited. There was a lot of energy which is something we couldn't say we had throughout the entire season. It has been a long season. It's nice to see the kids are revived and energetic. We gave the kids a few days off and had some kids who were sick, but they're better."
The path to a title is difficult with "each opponent, tougher than the previous one," Trifonov said, adding, "We have Hill to worry about and we can't worry about anybody else. If you lose, you're chance for a championship is done even though you continue playing (in the consolation bracket.)"
The SCCC coach summed it up on the keys to winning the tournament.
"This time of the year, you've got to play your best, stay healthy and be lucky."
The Lady Saints will play their opening round tournament against the Hill College Rebels at 9 a.m. on Thursday. The game will be streamed live on the video boards at the Greenhouse. Admission is free and open to the public.
The last time Seward and Hill played was in August. At the time of the match, the Lady Saints were fourth in the nation and the Rebels were 12th. Seward defeated Hill in straight sets 25-16, 25-16 and 25-9.
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It has been a tremendous season for the Lady Saints. They have won back-to-back Region VI championships and their third in four years. Seward also posted its fourth-straight, regular season Jayhawk West title with a perfect 16-0 record, going undefeated in conference play for the third time in a row. SCCC's only two losses this season came early against tough non-conference foes in Salt Lake Community College and Parkland College.
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Seward was the big winner in the year-end Kansas Jayhawk Community College Conference awards, sweeping the top categories and leading All-KJCCC selections with six, including four on the First Team.
Yanlis Feliz was Most Valuable Player of Year and freshman of the Year while Trifonov was named coach of the year for the second straight season.
Sophomores Djuly Schmorantz and Laura De Pra along with freshmen Mesalina Severino and Feliz were named to the First Team, freshman Ariana Arciniega was named Second Team and freshman Grecia Soriano was named Honorable Mention.