Wood Ducks are National Runner-Up in the 2023 National Championships
Wood Ducks are National Runner-Up in the 2023 National Championships
The Century College Wood Ducks went down to participate in the 2023 National Tournament this past week. Going into the tournament, the Wood Ducks have been playing well. In the first round, Century took on Northern Essex (MA) who was previously undefeated. The Wood Ducks were led by freshman, Alexis Helmin (Foley, MN) with 10 kills. Sophomore Kalley Vugteveen (Shafer, MN) contributed with 6 kills. Overall, the team had a combined 40 kills in the match and was able to move on to the next round.
Later in the day, the Wood Ducks had a rematch with last year's champion, the College of DuPage. The two teams faced off twice this season and split with Century winning the first matchup and DuPage taking the second. Sophomore Jamie Ihfe (Wyoming, MN) lit up the match with 14 kills while Helmin had 9 of her own. The play of the team earned them a spot in the semifinals on Friday.
On Friday, Century College faced off against Owens Community College, a perennial powerhouse in the NJCAA tournament. Ihfe and Helmin led the way with 14 and 10kills a piece and sophomore Kiyomi Callahan (St Paul, MN) joined in with 9 kills. The Wood Ducks came out on top in straight sets. This set them up with the other finalist, the #1 team in the country and undefeated Dallas College Eastfield.
The Harvester Bees started off fast in both sets one and two putting the Wood Ducks in early holes. While training 2 sets to none, the Ducks did not give in. Callahan's 10 kills and Ihfe's 9 during the match was not enough to push Century past Eastfield. The Wood Ducks end up losing the last match in the season and falling to the team from Dallas.
This is Century's highest finish in their 4 years of existence in the NJCAA. "A 2nd place finish following a 4th place finish last year is a great accomplishment!" says coach Jay Kam. "I cannot say enough about these women and the hard work they have put in. Good students, good athletes, and fantastic people." Seven sophomores will be leaving the program by way of graduation and transfer. "While we are a volleyball program that has had a lot of success, I'm even more excited to see these women moving on to finish their degrees. In 15 years from now, the players won't remember much from the tournament. What they will have to show from all of this is the degrees that they earned and the relationships that they have built with their teammates."