The Santa Fe Saints volleyball team will play in its first ever national tournament today when they face Arizona Western in Wyoming. The Saints qualified for the NJCAA Championships by finishing as the runner up team at the FCSAA Championships. The Saints begin the first round of the national tournament in the top half of the bracket.
The No.8 Saints (17-11) begin play against a red-hot Arizona Western (26-2) team that earned the ninth seed after topping Eastern Arizona College in the Region 1 Championship last Friday to earn their spot.
The Numbers
On paper, this match up couldn’t be any closer. The Matadors hold a slight edge in kills (1326), kills per set (13), points per set (16.7), and service aces (174), but have given up more service errors than the Saints. The Saints hold their own with a slight edge in digs per set (18.07), less ball-handling errors, and overall better blocking numbers.
AWC is led by outside hitter Maria-Fernanda Sandoval who accumulated 312 kills in 88 sets played. The Saints are led by outside hitter Nadine Williams who has managed 327 kills in 104 sets played. Numbers aside, Saints head coach Nick Cheronis says there is nothing that can top the level of confidence his team is playing with right now.
First serve is at 3 p.m.
2016 @NJCAA DI VOLLEYBALL CHAMPIONSHIP – 1ST ROUND
#8 Santa Fe vs. #9 Arizona Western pic.twitter.com/WRScJtFUEj— NJCAA (@NJCAA) November 10, 2016
Should the Saints win their match against Arizona Western, they will face the winner of #1 Panola College and #16 Hill Community College. Panola is coached by former Florida Gator All-American Amber McCray who learned under the guidance of Mary Wise and then assistant coach Nick Cheronis.
The tournament is single-elimination winner’s bracket, but with a consolidation bracket for losing teams.