Florida College Sweeps Way to 2022 CAC Volleyball Title

Florida College accentuated its top-seeded position in the 2022 Continental Athletic Conference volleyball tournament by capturing the league championship with five successive victories last weekend by impressive 3-0 scores on the Falcons' home court.

The Falcons secured the league's automatic bid to the NAIA national tournament.

Led by a strong hitting game, with a .248 hitting percentage, Florida College defeated No. 2 seed Florida National University by 25-16, 25-17 and 25-19 scores in Saturday's championship match.

Krista Trimble led the team in the match with 13 kills, with just four errors, while Emma Noskey had 10 kills and two errors. Emilie Selvidge recorded 30 assists and 13 digs – and was named the tournament's most outstanding player.

Meanwhile, Joanne Dania posted 10 kills, hitting .171 of those spikes, and had a team-high 18 digs for Florida National in the final matchup. Ivette Sandoval had 20 assists and the Conquistadors had four players reach double figures in digs.

The Falcons swept No. 4 seed Fisher College (Massachusetts) in the semifinal round before FNU edged No. 3 seed Haskell Indian Nations University (Kansas) in a five-set match during Saturday's semifinals.

Florida College won the first two sets against Fisher by 25-19 scores before closing out the victory with a 25-20 triumph in the third set. The team was successful on .233 of its hits in the second set. Noskey paced the offensive attack with 14 kills while Trimble added nine kills. Selvidge recorded 29 assists and 14 digs in the victory.

Fisher was led by Aya Al-Juraishi, Macy Barnes and Caroline Saucier each with seven kills. Paola Velazquez had 24 assists and 17 digs in the match.

In the other semifinal, Florida National rallied from a 2-1 set deficit to win the final two sets by 25-20 and 16-14 scores. Haskell Indian Nations hit .152 during the third set to win that frame 25-19 and grab a 2-1 lead. Dania led the Conquistadors with 13 kills while Paola Brandsma added 10 kills. Sandoval posted 34 assists and Juliana Santos had 29 digs to anchor FNU's defensive effort.

Haskell Indian Nations was paced by Mikeya Sheppard's 18 kills and a .206 hitting percentage for the match. Other strong efforts were contributed by Aysa Benally, with 11 kills, and Mary Bighorn, with 10 kills.

Continental Athletic Conference Volleyball Championship All-Tournament Team

Most Outstanding Player: Emilie Selvidge, Florida College

Adriana Bravo, Florida College

Emma Noskey, Florida College

Krista Trimble, Florida College

Paola Brandsma, Florida National University

Joanne Daria, Florida National University

Lina Valentino, Florida National University

Mikeya Sheppard, Haskell Indian Nations University

Maria Stewart, Haskell Indian Nations University

Macy Barnes, Fisher College

Natalia Ortiz, Fisher College