OVERAND PARK, Kan – The defending national champion Johnson County volleyball team moved up one spot in the current NJCAA Division II Poll to take over the No. 6 spot. Last week, the Lady Cavaliers finished 4-1 overall with their only setback to Iowa Western, the No. 2-ranked team in NJCAA Division I, and they took to five sets.
Johnson County opened the week with a impressive sweep over Coffeyville, winning 25-89, 25-10 and 25-12. The 25-9 victory is the largest margin in the series' history, the 25-10 win ties what was the previous record. JCCC now improves to 59-11 in the all-time series with the Ravens.
Over the weekend the JCCC volleyball squad hosted its annual JCCC Volleyball Challenge. They opened the weekend on Friday afternoon with a 3-0 win (25-19, 25-21, 25-15) over No. 18 North Platte, and followed with another sweep (25-12, 25-19, 25-17) over Northeastern Oklahoma A&M.
Saturday first matched featured the Lady Cavaliers against the second-ranked Reivers. Iowa Western jumped out to a big lead winning the first two sets 25-19 and 25-17. JCCC rallied to tie the match with wins of 25-22 and 25-21 and force a fifth and deciding set. It was a battle, but the Reivers prevailed 18-16 to take the match.
Johnson County closed out the day with another five-set match, but this time it was JCCC to take the final set to down Jefferson. This was a back-and-forth battle with JCCC winning the first, third and fifth sets The final scores were 25-17, 27-29, 25-20, 21-25 and 15-8.
Setter Ryleigh McBurney had an impressive week tallying 143 assists, an average of 7.5 per set. She topped 30 or more assists in three of the five matches, including a 41-assist effort in the win over Jefferson. It marked the third time this season she reached 40 or more in a match. McBurney currently ranks fourth in KJCCC D-II with 524 assists.
Libero Maddie Stiener finished the week with 104 digs, with a high of 30 against Iowa Western. That was her fourth 30+ dig effort of the season. She currently ranks second in the conference and third in the NJCAA with 386 digs. She also ranks second in the conference and eighth nationally in digs per set at 6.43.
Outside hitter Jadyn Troutman was the team's top hitter last week tallying 62 kills and hit percentage of .340. She was in double figures in kills in four of the five matches, with a high of 22 against Jefferson. Troutman currently leads the team with 196 kills, which rank her 7th in KJCCC D-II.
Head coach Jennifer Ei also got solid performances from middle/outside hitters Dejah Miller and Sydney Sample, and outside hitter Alyssa Smith. Miller tallied 50 kills, 11 blocks and .hit 305. Sample finished with 41 kills and 11 blocks. Smith had 28 kills in four matches played, along with 35 digs. She posted a double-double of 15 kills and 12 digs against Iowa Western.
Johnson County's schedule features two home matches this week. They host Labette on Wednesday, September 29 in and KJCCC D-II showdown, and Independence on Friday, October 1. Both matches are scheduled to being at 6 p.m.