CEDAR RAPIDS, Iowa. – The No. 2 seed Parkland College volleyball team returned to the NJCAA DII National Championships looking to defend their title and the Cobras got off to a strong start, taking down both No. 15 seed Cape Fear Community College and No. 7 seed Kirkwood Community College in straight sets on Thursday, November 17th. Returning All-American Kat Blase led Parkland with 14 kills against Cape Fear before freshman Chloe Byrd recorded a career-high 18 kills in the Cobras' win over Kirkwood. Parkland College advances to the National Semifinals for the 11th straight season.
 
"We are very proud of the girls earning a spot in the final four again this year," Parkland College Athletic Director Brendan McHale said on Thursday evening. "Very proud of the grit they showed to dig deep and come out on top in both of today's matches. We are very proud of the entire team."
 
No. 2 Parkland College - 3, No. 15 Cape Fear Community College - 0 (25-12, 25-11, 25-18)
 
Kat Blase (14 kills, 3 blocks)
Avah Classen (19 assists)
Kayla Pacha (10 kills, 8 digs, 3 blocks)
Kenzie DeFosse (4 service aces)
Josie Hess (18 digs)
 
The Cobras (54-2) didn't trail in their first two sets against the Sea Devils (17-8), but things were not as simple in the third. Parkland got off to another strong start, leading 14-7 when Cape Fear took their first time out, but the Sea Devils went on a 7-1 run to close the Cobras' lead to just 15-14. Hastings' squad responded quickly, winning 10 of the next 14 points to complete the sweep and secure a first-round win in the NJCAA National Tournament for the 11th season in a row.
 
No. 2 Parkland - 3, No. 7 Kirkwood Community College - 0 (25-21, 25-14, 25-19)
 
Chloe Byrd (18 kills)
Avah Classen (22 assists)
Kayla Pacha (10 kills, 10 digs)
Kat Blase (8 kills, 3 service aces, 7 digs)
Landry Warfel (15 assists)
 
Parkland committed a few uncharacteristic mistakes early in the first set and the team trailed the Eagles (35-8) 10-4 early on. The Cobras tied the set at 15-15 and took a 17-16 lead not long after, but the Central District Champions found themselves trailing 20-17 again when Hastings used his second timeout. Parkland tied it back up with three straight points out of the break and the Cobras took a 22-21 lead on an Elle Schupbach kill and never looked back, winning the first set 25-21. The Cobras didn't mess around in the second set, jumping out to a 10-5 lead straightaway and maintaining the lead on their way to a 25-15 win. Kirkwood started the third set up 7-4, but Parkland battled back to tie the game at 8-8, the first point in a 13-0 run that put the Cobras in control, 20-8. The Eagles fought back late, but it was too little too late as the Cobras advanced in straight sets.
 
"We are proud of how the girls fought today," head coach Cliff Hastings said after the win over Kirkwood. "They were down pretty big to start two of the three sets, but they stayed calm and positive, trusted the process and fought back to beat a talented team that took them to five sets earlier in the season."
 
Up next, the Cobras will take on Scottsdale Community College in the NJCAA DII National Tournament Semifinals on Friday, November 18th. The match against the Artichokes (25-1) is scheduled to start at 6:30 PM at the Alliant Energy Powerhouse Area in Cedar Rapids, Iowa.