Rock Valley rides Region 4 title wave all the way to NJCAA championship match

JOLIET, ILL. - As the #1-ranked team in the NJCAA Division III Women's Volleyball Poll since Week 3, Rock Valley College took everyone's best punch throughout the year, however, the Golden Eagles stood their ground and secured the 2021 NJCAA Region 4 Division III Tournament crown en route to an appearance in the NJCAA Division III National Championship match. Top-seeded RVC defeated third-seeded College of DuPage in a dramatic five sets, and Kristy Pierce was awarded the Region 4 Coach of the Year.

Rock Valley College had little trouble with perennial Region 4 power Harper College in the postseason opener, winning in three sets by scores of 25-6, 25-21, 25-21. Following a pair of five-set losses against RVC during the regular season, the Chaparrals had designs on a different outcome in the title match and stormed out to a 2-0 lead on sets wins of 25-21 and 29-27. The Golden Eagles stood their ground and surged back to take the match with three straight set victories, 25-19, 25-17, 15-9. The Region 4 championship marked the program's first since 2018. Region 4 Player of the Year Addison Metts led the charge with an impressive 34 kills on 95 attempts and picked up 12 digs for the double-double. She was joined on the Region 4 All-Tournament Team by teammates Samantha Ingram (60 assists; 18 digs) and Madison Perry (16 kills; 20 digs).

At the 2021 NJCAA Division III Women's Volleyball Championships in Rochester, Minnesota, from November 11-13, top-seeded Rock Valley College earned a bye into the quarterfinals, where they would handily sweep #8 RCSJ-Gloucester (25-10, 25-9, 25-10). The semifinals brought a matchup with #5 SUNY-Broome and yet another three-set win (25-15, 25-14, 25-22) to advance to the national title match for the first time since 2012. Unfortunately, RVC was unable to take advantage of a two-sets-to-one lead and lost in five (23-25, 25-23, 23-25, 25-20, 15-12) against #2 Owens Community College (OH) to narrowly miss out on the program's fourth national championship. The Golden Eagles posted a 34-8 record. Metts, a freshman outside hitter, produced 32 kills in the loss and was joined on the NJCAA Division III Women's Volleyball All-Tournament Team by Perry, a first year middle hitter.

2021 Region 4 Division III All-Tournament Team
Addison Metts - Rock Valley College
Samantha Ingram - Rock Valley College
Madison Perry - Rock Valley College
Grace Franz - College of DuPage
Alyssa Fountain - College of DuPage
Jules Carusiello - Harper College
Jadyn Holman - Madison College

Region 4 Coach of the Year
Kristy Pierce - Rock Valley College