San Jacinto College volleyball to face Hutchinson in opening round of NJCAA national tournament

Amanda Booren - 11/13/2008 The San Jacinto College volleyball team returns to the National Junior College Athletic Association (NJCAA) tournament next weekend as the number five seed. It is the school’s fourth-consecutive trip to the national tournament.

PASADENA, Texas – The San Jacinto College volleyball team is the fifth seed in next week’s National Junior College Athletic Association (NJCAA) volleyball championship, the organization announced today.

San Jac (30-2) will face 12th-seed Hutchinson Community College (28-14) at 3 p.m., on Thursday, November 20. San Jac won the Region XIV title this past weekend by defeating Wharton County Community College and Laredo Community College to earn its fourth-consecutive berth in the NJCAA national tournament.

"We’re very focused right now,” said seventh-year head coach Sharon Nelson. “We’ve played all year for this, and we’ve had a great year. The team is excited and ready to play."

San Jac is led by a trio of international players and a solid freshman setter. Hitters Zuzana Cizova (Zlin, Czech Republic), Julia Teixeira (Rio de Janeiro, Brazil) and Bruna Rocha (Sao Paulo, Brazil) rank among the top-12 in the nation in kills per game, and Abbey Parker is the nation’s assists leader at 13.4 per game.

San Jac and Hutchinson faced each other earlier this season at the Hutch / Bank of America Classic in Hutchinson, Kansas. SJC won that match, 3-1.

The winner of Thursday’s match advances in the winners bracket to face either fourth-seed Blinn (29-2), or 13th-seed Temple (26-12).

The 2008 NJCAA volleyball national championship runs November 20-22 at the Mid-America Center in Council Bluffs, Iowa. Complete tournament information can be found at http://www.njcaavb.com/.

For information about San Jacinto College volleyball, please visit www.sanjacsports.com.

Tournament Bracket