Barton Volleyball Wins NJCAA Plains District Title In Extra Points Of Fifth Set To Secure Spot At Nationals
A championship match that lived up to the hype between two teams that split the regular season series, the Barton Community College volleyball team outlasted Colby Community College in a thrilling five-set match that needed extra points in the fifth set for the Cougars to Claim the 2025 NJCAA Division 1 Volleyball Plains District Tournament Title inside of Gross Memorial Coliseum on the campus of Fort Hays State University on Sunday, November 9th.
Advancing to the NJCAA Division 1 Volleyball National Tournament for a second-straight year, Barton will make its 25th all-time appearance at the NJCAA Division 1 Volleyball National Tournament while holding a 31-5 overall record. The Trojans, meanwhile, will await the possibility of an at-large berth for a third-straight trip to the National Tournament after dropping to 24-7 overall this season following their second five-set loss to Barton in as many weeks.
After being held to their lowest point total in any set this season in a 25-14 opening set loss, Barton bounced back in the second set to take a 25-22 and even the match at 1-1. Things stayed close throughout the rest of the match as the Trojans overcame a 9-5 and 15-13 Barton lead with a 9-0 run to gain control at 22-15 and eventually take the set by a score of 25-21 as Colby was looking for their second Plains District Title in three years. The Cougars had other ideas, however, as Barton overcame a deficit of 17-14 midway through the set by going on a 6-0 run to hold off Colby from any potential celebration with a 25-20 set victory to force a winner-take-all fifth set between teams for the third time this season.
For as close as things had been all season between Barton and Colby during both regular-season matchups, the trend carried over in the biggest match of the year for both squads as an early back-and-forth start to the fifth eventually made way for Colby to jump out to a 9-4 lead and close in on ending the match. Undeterred by the deficit, Barton’s poise and determination allowed the Cougars to get back into the set with Caroliny Cristiny capping off a 3-0 run to put Barton up 13-12 and on the cusp of a second-straight District Title. Two separate match points for the Cougars were thwarted by the Trojans, sending the decisive set into extra points as the back-and-forth continued on with neither team wanting to give in. Tied at 18-18, Barton’s Indigo Pruitt proved that her region-best .414 attack percentage was the needed spark for the Cougars in crunch time by having a hand in each of the final two points of the match to give the Cougars a 20-18 set-five win and claim the trophy.
Barton now awaits their official seeding for the 2025 NJCAA Division 1 Volleyball National Tournament, which is set to take place November 19-22 in Clarksville, Tennessee, on the campus of Austin Peay State University. The Cougars are one of 12 district champions to earn automatic berths into the 16-team tournament field, with four at-large berths still to be determined. The NJCAA Division 1 Volleyball National Tournament bracket release is scheduled for 1 PM (CST) on Wednesday, November 12th.