Flyers Split on Day 1 of NJCAA National Championship Tournament

Sandhills Community College opened the NJCAA National Championship Tournament with a dominant sweep before falling in a hard-fought four-set battle in the night session at the Alliant Energy PowerHouse.

Sandhills 3, St. Cloud Tech 0

(25–16, 25–13, 25–19)**

The Flyers delivered a strong opening statement in their 3 p.m. match, sweeping St. Cloud Technical & Community College behind efficient offense, steady serving, and a stifling defensive effort.

Sandhills controlled the opening two sets with hitting percentages of .241 and .317, building early leads and never allowing St. Cloud Tech to gain momentum. The Flyers held their opponent to negative hitting in the third set and just .035 overall.

Brooke Emore powered the Sandhills attack with 10 kills and 5 blocks, while Katelyn Bunting added 6 kills, 4 block assists, and 2 aces. Reagan Smith contributed 6 kills (.267), and Liz Bryson added 5 kills (.231).

Setter Averi Cuddeback orchestrated the offense with 19 assists and added 4 aces, helping Sandhills finish with 9 total aces in the match. Defensively, Olivia Rosy anchored the back row with 15 digs, and the Flyers out-dug St. Cloud Tech 55–48 while posting 18 block assists at the net.

The win moved Sandhills to 34–3 and gave them their first sweep of the national tournament.

Sandhills 1, Rochester CTC 3

(26–24, 23–25, 22–25, 19–25)**

In the evening match, the Flyers battled Rochester Community & Technical College in a tight, physical matchup but ultimately fell 3–1 despite several strong individual performances.

Sandhills took the opening set 26–24 behind a balanced attack but Rochester responded with three straight sets, hitting progressively better as the match wore on — capped by a .341 performance in the fourth set.

Brooke Emore again led the Flyers with 14 kills and six total blocks, while Katelyn Bunting turned in one of her most efficient matches of the season with 13 kills on .464 hitting and 4 aces, totaling a team-high 19 points.

Setter Averi Cuddeback dished out 22 assists and added 5 aces, helping Sandhills keep pressure on the Yellowjackets from the service line. Taylor Miller chipped in 8 kills, and Madison Scheffler added 5 kills and 5 block assists.

Rochester's offense finished with 65 kills on .215 hitting, using a late-set surge in each of the last three frames to edge ahead.

Libero Olivia Rosy was a defensive standout for the Flyers with 23 digs, helping Sandhills win the back-row battle with 77 digs on the night.

The loss moved Sandhills to 34–4 on the season. The Flyers will take on Northampton Community College (Bethlethem, PA) at 2:30pm today in their first consolation game as they seek to capture 5th place overall.