Women’s Volleyball Named Region 10/Southeast A District Champs, Punches Ticket to Nationals for Third Year in a Row

SOUTH PRINCE GEORGE, VA – The #8 Richard Bland College Women's Volleyball team sits at 31-6 overall after defeating Fayetteville Technical Community College in the first round of the Region 10 Division II Tournament, defeating Cleveland Community College in the Semifinal round, and Cape Fear Community College in the Region 10 Division II Championship Saturday afternoon, to punch their ticket the NJCAA National Tournament in Cedar Rapids, IA for the third year in a row.

Prior to the start of the tournament, Richard Bland women's volleyball landed six spots on the Division II All-Region teams and Player of the Year for their success this season. Sarah Heath and Leilani Goggin earned 1^st team honors, while Jordan Schlageter, Alexis Scipione, and Mikayla Mitchell earned 2^nd team. Jadyn Brown earned 3^rd team honors. Heath has also earned Region 10 Player of the Year for her efforts this season.

In match one, Richard Bland defeated the hosts, Fayetteville Tech Community College 3-0 with set scores of; 25-16, 25- 12, and 25-8. Leilani Goggin led the attack with 12 kills, followed by Sarah Heath with nine, Jadyn Brown eight, and Mikayla Mitchell six. Alexis Scipione tallied 34 assists and three digs in the three set sweep. Brown was also credited with nine digs for the Statesmen.

In match two, Richard Bland defeated Cleveland Community College 3-0 with set scores of; 25-14, 25-14, and 25-18. Heath led the attack with 19 kills, and also tallied nine digs. Goggin was credited with eight kills, three digs, two service aces, one block, and one assist. Scipione had 31 assists, eight digs, and four service aces to help the Statesmen defeat the Yetis in the semifinal round.

In the Region 10 Championship match, Richard Bland defeated Cape Fear Community College 3-2 with set scores of; 21-25, 25-17, 25-19, 23-25, and 15-5. Heath and Goggin once again led the attack with 28 and 16 kills. Goggin also added 10 digs, and Heath eight. Alexis Scipione assisted on 51 occasions and added 10 digs and one block. Aubrey Hyndshaw tallied 23 digs, four assists, and two service aces. Jadyn Brown was credited with 10 digs, five kills, and four service aces to help push the Statesmen past the Sea Devils.

With the championship win, the #8 nationally ranked Statesmen have been named the Southeast District A Champion and receive an automatic bid to the national tournament. The NJCAA DII Women's Volleyball Tournament will be played at the Alliant Energy Powerhouse in Cedar Rapids, IA on November 15-18, 2023.