Flyers Stop Express to Reach 5th-Place Match

The Sandhills Community College Flyers advanced to the 5th-place game with a hard-fought 3-1 win over the Owens Express in the consolation bracket of the NJCAA Division III Championships on Friday afternoon. With the win, the Flyers will now face Dallas College North Lake at 3 p.m. eastern time on Saturday. 

The Flyers jumped out to an early 4-1 lead in set one and eventually pushed their advantage to 15-9 before the Express went on a scoring run of their own to tie the set at 21-21. Owens closed the comeback set with another run to take the set 25-23 and a 1-0 lead. 

The Flyers started set two with a huge scoring burst, led by a Sydney Garner serving run that included four aces, jumping to an 11-2 lead. They kept their foot on the pedal, holding the Express to just seven points and securing a 25-7 set victory to tie the match at 1-1. 

Sandhills carried their momentum into the third set, taking an early 7-2 lead and controlling the pace throughout. Once the Flyers found their rhythm, it was difficult for the Express to regain control. Sandhills dominated the set, 25-12, securing a 2-1 lead. 

The fourth set was tightly contested early on, with both teams trading points. A pancake dig by Lainey Mullins was challenged by the Owens coaches but upheld by video replay sparking a scoring rally to give the Flyers a commanding 17-10 lead. Nikki Lambert closed out the set with back-to-back aces to secure the win for the Flyers (25-15). This victory avenges an early-season loss to the Express back in August, which was decided in a five-set thriller. 

Kristin Dodds led the Flyers' offense with 14 kills, followed by Katelyn Bunting with 13 and Caroline Bradford with 12. Sydney Garner and Zoey Hall contributed 22 assists each, while Lainey Mullins added seven, and Bradford chipped in two.

On defense, Mullins led the way with 19 digs, followed by Nikki Lambert with 12 and Mariana Clayton with eight.

Z. Ciboth