By: Nathan DeHaan
CEDAR RAPIDS, IA., – The No. 3 seeded Parkland College volleyball team defeated the previously undefeated No. 1 overall seed Cowley County Community College in four sets (25-20, 20-25, 25-21, 25-17) to win the NJCAA DII National Championship Title on Saturday night. The Cobras finish the season on a 38-match win-streak. This is Parkland’s first National Championship in Volleyball since 2016.
“It was such an amazing closing to a long and outstanding season,” Head coach Cliff Hastings said after this win. “We learned so much about ourselves as individuals and as a team, and that sense of accomplishment at the end to validate all the work and development is such a great feeling. Each and every one of these girls made important contributions on the year, and our coaching staff is so thankful for them, their families and their pride in Parkland and Cobra volleyball.”
The Cobras (56-3) hit exceptionally well in the first set, handing the Tigers (41-1) just their third set loss of the season in the first set of the match. Cowley County responded by winning the second set, tying the match at one match each heading into the third, but the Cobras did not panic. Parkland took a 10-5 lead early in the third set, forcing the Tigers to call a timeout. Cowley County shortly responded with a 5-0 run to shrink the lead to 16-14, but a signature Kat Blase kill steered the Cobras back on track and Cliff Hastings’ squad did not look back. The Cobras scored four clutch points late in the pivotal third set to give them a 2-1 set lead and force Cowley County to play from behind for the first time all season.
In the fourth set, the Tigers started with a 5-2 lead before the Cobras fought back to take a 9-6 lead, forcing Cowley County to take their first time out. Parkland then traded points with Cowley County until it was 16-10, at which point the Tigers took their second and final timeout of the set. Facing their first loss of the season in the National Championship match, the Tigers couldn’t stop the building Cobras momentum. The Cobras won 5 of the final 6 points of the set to win the fourth and final set 25-17 and become the 2021 NJCAA DII Volleyball National Champions.
Statistical Highlights
#3 Parkland- 3, Cowley County Community College- 1 (25-20, 20-25, 25-21, 25-17)
Kat Blase (13 kills, 6 blocks)
Halle Everett (10 kills)
Sophie Young (34 assists, 3 blocks)
Arika Richardson (7 kills, 4 blocks)
Jayden Sortor (8 kills, 6 blocks)
