The Rock wins NCSAA national volleyball title

The Rock School's volleyball team took first place at the 2024 NCSAA championship tournament on Saturday.
The Rock School's volleyball team took first place at the 2024 NCSAA championship tournament on Saturday.
Courtesy of The Rock

This past Saturday The Rock volleyball team swept Grace Academy (Hagerstown, MD) to win the National Christian School Athletic Association (NCSAA) Division I national championship 25-18, 25-20 in the best-of-three final at Cedarville, Ohio.

The Lions also had sweeps of First Baptist Christian (Elyria, OH) and Calumet Christian (Griffith, IN) to finish the season at 26-2.

“The key to winning not only the national championship but every game was winning the warmup,” said The Rock coach Ruben Perez. “Our girls came out strong and confident and played as a team. This team has always been good enough, but it took this year for my seniors to play like they did all season long.”

Become A Member

Mainstreet does not have a paywall, but pavement-pounding journalism is not free. Join your neighbors who make this vital work possible.

For the season, senior Natasha Kidd, a North Dakota State commit, served 90% and led the team with 65 aces, while junior libero Skyler Perez, the coach’s daughter, led the team in serve-receive passing at a 2.09 rating. Perez also led the team in digs with 261.

Senior Annabell Zachritz, a Rider University commit, led the team in blocks at 76, while senior Mary Massias, a Lehigh University commit, led the team in kills with 266 with Kidd a close second at 238.

Senior Abby Vaillancourt led the setters in assists with 368, while eighth-grader Taylor Sembower added a .284 hitting percentage for the season, which Perez said is impressive for an eighth-grader competing against high school-level athletes.

All pins (right front- and left-front players) and middles hit above 250 “which is an impressive percentage,” Ruben Perez said.

“This team showed a lot of poise and confidence because even when we lost a set, or we were down, they never seemed out of control,” he said. “The two losses we experienced this year, the other teams played well, and we just didn’t execute. But I never felt that our girls let that affect their confidence for too long. Our girls have embraced the ‘grit culture’ and what family means.”

Ruben Perez and members of the Rock volleyball team will be guests on “The Prep Zone Sports Show” from 7-8 p.m. Wednesday, Oct. 30, at locally owned Sonic Drive-In of Gainesville on Archer Road. You can listen to the show online at Mainstreet Daily News.

Enjoying our local sports coverage? Get Mike Ridaught's twice weekly sports newsletter in your inbox.
Sports Newsletter Form
Subscribe
Notify of
guest
0 Comments
Oldest
Newest Most Voted
Inline Feedbacks
View all comments