Junior College Volleyball: Santa Fe Saints Partaking in 2016 NJCAA Volleyball Championships

The Santa Fe Saints women’s volleyball team will be taking part in the NJCAA Volleyball championships.  While the NJCAA tournament doesn’t quite as much press coverage, being an eight-seed in a national tournament is absolutely nothing to sneeze at.

How They Got Here

The Saints (17-11) had a successful season under third-year head coach Nick Cheronis. The team averaged 10.76 kills per set, 2.56 blocks per set, and had a hitting percentage of .218. According to Cheronis, the success has been largely due to the team playing together and buying in.  

The team’s attitude and mindset is something Cheronis is clearly proud of. When speaking on his team’s merits, statistics and percentages are not his focus. Instead, he praises the team’s character, which he believes has allowed the squad to reach its full potential. Even Cheronis himself admitted that he did not expect his team to be in this position. In fact, Cheronis said he would’ve “said you were crazy” if someone three years ago told him they’d be in this position.

Fortunately, skepticism is now nowhere to be found and his team is playing with a great deal of confidence.

Opening Round Opponent

Santa Fe will match up with ninth-seeded Western Arizona on Thursday. The tournament is single-elimination winner’s bracket, but with a consolidation bracket for losing teams.

2016 @NJCAA DI VOLLEYBALL CHAMPIONSHIP – 1ST ROUND
#8 Santa Fe vs. #9 Arizona Western pic.twitter.com/WRScJtFUEj

— NJCAA (@NJCAA) November 10, 2016

While it is difficult at a junior college level to attain game tape on an opponent on the other side of the country, the Saints are well aware that they’ll be in a tough matchup.

Arizona Western College went 25-2 in the regular season, and defeated Eastern Arizona College in the Region 1 Championship last Friday to earn their spot. The Matadors even started their season on a 22 match unbeaten streak. Led by outside hitter Maria-Fernanda Sandoval (312 kills in 88 sets), the Saints will certainly be challenged. For coach Cheronis,  the fact that the Matadors don’t have much tape on them either evens the playing field.

Game Info

The matchup between the Matadors and the Saints will take place on Thursday at 3 p.m. Matches can be watched live on www.njcaatv.com.