ROCHESTER -- The Ridgewater volleyball team looks for its second national title in three seasons as the Lady Warriors make their fourth straight appearance at the NJCAA Division III tournament today and Saturday at the Rochester Sports Center.
The Lady Warriors won the national title in 2006, the first year for coach Joe Sussenguth. They finished second in both 2005 and last year, meaning Ridgewater has been in the championship match three straight years.
This year might be more of a challenge for Ridgewater. Only four players returned from 2007.
"When we play solid, basic ball, we're OK," Sussenguth said after the Lady Warriors won the Region 13A title over Madison Area Tech Nov. 1. "We're not a team that's going to overpower you."
Ridgewater, the No. 3 seed, will face No. 6 Nassau (N.Y.) at 10 a.m. today.
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No. 2 Harper (Ill.) plays No. 7 Catawba Valley (N.C.) at noon in the other lower-bracket semifinal. The losers will play at 2 p.m. and the winners at 4 p.m.
For the Lady Warriors, sophomores Leah Miller, of Bird Island; Jordan Olerud, of Redwood Falls; and Carina Fesenmaier, of St. Cloud, form the core of the team. They are the only active second-year players for the Lady Warriors. The freshmen have really stepped up as the season has progressed. Karie Blommel, of Montevideo, has become a go-to outside hitter and had nine kills in the region title match. Mackenzie Kessler, from St. Michael, had six blocks.
Ridgewater will have the height advantage against Nassau. Nine Lady Warriors are 5-foot-9 or taller, while Nassau has only three.
Brookhaven (Tex.) is the top seed in the tournament and is making its fifth consecutive national tournament appearance. Hibbing, of the MCAC North Division, is the fifth seed.
The championship match will be Saturday at 3 p.m.
