Lincoln Land College Second at Nationals

CHARLESTON, W. Va. -- Lincoln Land Communitiy College ended the season with a second place finish for the second straight year at the National Junior College Athletic Association Division II National Volleyball Championship Saturday.

LLCC swept No. 2 seed Owens to advance to the title contest, 25-22, 25-17, 25-20. The Loggers did it in atypical fashion against the Express as Owens sought ot keep Talesha Scott from hitting effectively limiting her to seven kills for the match. The decision hurt as Addie Patton struck for 10 kills, Kaylee Beekman chipped in with eight and Kiersten Anderson added her second triple-double of the National Tournament.

"We had a nice simple game plan," said Coach Jim Dietz. "We wanted to keep the ball away from their libero. We did that and when we did, she started pushing to get some balls and that left holes elsewhere in the defense."

Stewardson-Strasburg High School graduate Kendall Knop fnished the game with 18 digs and two aces.

In the championship game, Parkland repeated as National champions by beating the Loggers 25-20, 25-20, 25-18. The top-seeded Cobras finished the season with a 52-2 record.

The Loggers stayed close in the opening game and took a lead in the second game at 17-16 but fell after a call that changed the momentum of the match. Parkland then tallied seven consecutive points and that put the match out of reach.

"We just couldn't overcome it," said Coach Dietz. "It's too bad because we'd made a great hustle play and then we dwelled on it for a couple more points after that. It's easy to say 'it happens' because it does in all sports, but it was rough since we'd just grabbed the momentum for the first time all night.

"Still, if you are going to lose, it might as well be in the national championship. We've got sophomores who reached the game twice, something nobody else in our region can say other than Parkland. That's pretty good. But now for next year, we'll have the bull's eye on our back. You do this twice, you're the target, not the underdog."

Knop, along with teammates Talesha Scott and Sarah Mueller, set some pretty impressive statistics this season. Knop had 63 aces and is sixth in a single season, tying Clarie Reinthaler's 2015 total. Knop finished career fifth in aces with 109.