TOLEDO, Ohio --- The No. 2 ranked Owens Community College volleyball team was seeded second as the National Junior College Athletic Association (NJCAA) Division III national tournament bracket was announced on Tuesday, giving the Express a first round bye and setting up a Nov. 11 quarterfinal round matchup at 5 p.m. ET against the winner of No. 7 Raritan Valley and No. 10 Finger Lakes.
Rock Valley, which handed Owens its only loss to a fellow Division III team in the program's nearly three years as a Division III program on Sept. 3 of this season, is the top-seeded team in the tournament, which sets the two teams up for a rematch in the national championship on Nov. 13. Both semifinal matches are slated for Nov. 12. The tournament is being held at Rochester Regional Sports Center in Rochester, Minn.
�� The 2021 #NJCAAVB Division III Championship bracket is ��������!
— NJCAA Volleyball (@NJCAAVolleyball) November 2, 2021
1⃣2⃣ teams. 3⃣ days of competition.
Who takes home the �� in Rochester?https://t.co/QzWiv9pSHX pic.twitter.com/VtEdHc8h7D
Owens, competing for its third-consecutive national championship, earned the automatic bid by winning one of the toughest district tournaments in the nation this past weekend as the Express (26-7) toppled undefeated No. 3 Butler County Community College and Sandhills Community College in straight sets to claim the Mid-Atlantic District A/B championship at Butler's Pioneer Field House. It was the sixth-straight district title for Owens, including all three since moving to the Division III level.
For a PDF version of the bracket, visit here.
NJCAA Division III National Tournament
First Round (Nov. 11)
No. 10 Finger Lakes d. No. 7 Raritan Valley 25-12, 21-25, 25-18- 25-15
No. 8 RCSJ Gloucester d. No. 9 Queensborough 25-22, 16-25, 25-11, 17-25, 15-12
No. 6 Butler County d. No. 11 Rockland 25-17, 25-22, 25-16
No. 5 SUNY Broome d. No. 12 Brookhaven 25-23, 12-25, 25-10, 25-20
Quarterfinals (Nov. 11)
No. 1 Rock Valley vs d. No. 8 RCSJ-Gloucester 25-10, 25-9, 25-10
No. 4 Central Lakes d. No. 5 SUNY Broome 25-20, 25-21, 25-22
No. 2 Owens d. No. 10 Finger Lakes 25-12, 25-13, 25-17
No. 3 Minnesota State vs No. 6 Butler County 25-10, 25-13, 25-14
Semifinals (Nov. 12)
No. 1 Rock Valley vs No. 5 SUNY Broome, 6 p.m.
No. 2 Owens vs No. 3 Minnesota State, 8 p.m.
Championship (Nov. 13)
Winner of first semifinal vs winner of second semifinal, 5 p.m.
Notes
Owens is 37-3 in postseason play over the past five-plus seasons with two national titles, a national runner-up finish, a third-place finish and a ninth-place finish. Since moving to the Division III level, the Red and White are 19-0 over the past two-plus seasons, and they have dropped just three total sets over those 19 matches.
For complete coverage of Owens Athletics, follow the Express on Twitter at @owensexpress, on Instagram at @owensexpressathletics, on Facebook at /awinningtradition and online at OwensExpress.com.
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