(West Plains) Sixteen teams will start play today at the West Plains Civic Center with a common goal of being the NJCAA Division 1 National Champion for 2022. The tournament opens today at 9a.m. with a pair of matches: The Seward County Saints will face the Miami Dade Sharks and the Eastern Arizona Monsters will play the Salt Lake Bruins. The MSU-West Plains Grizzlies are ranked sixth in the national poll and have the five seed in the tournament and will play their first match at 3p.m. against the Northeastern Community College Plainsmen from Sterling Colorado. The Grizzlies (24-7) enter the tournament with an 18-game winning streak only losing 10 sets in those 18 wins. After coming close on multiple occasions, the Grizzlies are still looking for their first national championship. Coach Paula Wiedemann talks about what it would mean to win the national title.
The tournament will be televised on NJCAA.tv with coverage also on ESPN 3. Local radio coverage will be available on The Fox 96.9.
