CHARLESTON, W.V. – The No. 1 seed Parkland volleyball team advanced to the 2019 NJCAA National Semifinal with a nail-biting victory (25-15, 23-25, 25-13, 23-25, 15-13) over No. 6 Illinois Central College on Thursday evening. The seventh straight semifinal appearance for the program, Parkland will face #15 Bismarck State on Friday, November 22, at 5:30 p.m. central time. The winner of Friday's match will earn a spot in Saturday's NJCAA National Championship match at 4:30 p.m. central time.
The Illinois Central (32-11) attack not only forced a 5-set match, but in the process forced the Cobras to produce a team total of 16 blocks and 110 defense digs.
Paige Yoder (13 kills, 9 blocks) led in blocking, and the leaders in digs were
Brooke Norder (26 digs, 2 aces),
Ellie Stone (22 digs),
Gabby Wessels (20 digs), and
Ryleigh Warfel (14 digs, 2 aces). Parkland's offensive attack was led by
Abigail Burnett (14 kills), Yoder, and
Amanda Greening (10 kills), off assists from setters
Summerlyn Smith (24 assists, 3 aces) and
Rachel Verdun (17 assists, 10 digs).
