"NCCAA District Tournament"

  Over the weekend, the MVNC women's volleyball team claimed the 1996 National Christian College Athletic Association District I title with five straight victories.

  For the seventh consecutive year, the Lady Cougars (29-7) won the District I title to earn an automatic berth in the NCCAA National Tournament. This year's tournament will be held at Lee College in Cleveland, Tennessee, on November 1-2.

  "Winning this tournament and going back to nationals was one of our goals at the beginning of the season," said MVNC head coach Paul Swanson. "We had our ups and downs this weekend, but we did what we had to do in order to win. This was a total team effort."

  On Friday, MVNC began pool play action against Roberts Wesleyan (NY) College. The Lady Cougars used an impressive hitting attack to knock off the Lady Raiders (20-16) by the scores of 15-4, 15-12.

  Tara Seiter led the way with 10 kills and two blocks, while Christa DeLorenzo and Rachel Widener each added seven kills. Tammy Custer and Erin Weddington served up a team-high two aces apiece.

  The next pool play match pitted MVNC against the host school, Geneva College. The Lady Cougars made short work of the Golden Tornadoes (9-15) by the scores of 15-3, 15-7.

  Seiter again led the offensive attack with eight kills, while Jessica Huffaker pounded four kills. Meanwhile, Becky Jefferys tied an MVNC record by averaging 2.50 aces per game (5 aces total) for the match.

  The final pool play match featured the Lady Cougars versus Malone College. MVNC knocked off the Lady Pioneers (12-12) by identical scores of 15-8, 15-8 behind a well-balanced attack.

  DeLorenzo led the way with six kills and three blocks, and Seiter added five kills and three blocks. Custer served up a team-high three aces and recorded four kills and two blocks. Courtny Testa also finished with three blocks and two kills.

  On Saturday, the Lady Cougars began the single elimination portion of the tournament with a semi-final match-up against Roberts Wesleyan. Once again, MVNC won in straight games over the Lady Raiders 15-7, 15-9, 15-4.

  Seiter led the team with 10 kills, while DeLorenzo added seven kills. Custer recorded four aces and Jefferys and Weddington each finished with two aces.

  The win over Roberts Wesleyan was also the Lady Cougars' 500th all-time win. In their 20-plus seasons of intercollegiate competition, MVNC is now 501-261 (.657 winning percentage).

  With the victory, the Lady Cougars moved on to meet Malone, who had defeated Geneva in the other semi-final match. For the third time in the week, MVNC defeated the Lady Pioneers 15-11, 15-6, 8-15, 10-15, 15-13.

  Seiter led the team by compiling her third triple-double of the year with 17 kills, a school-record 16 blocks (including 11 solos), and 22 digs. DeLorenzo added 14 kills, and Amber Rice finished with a career-high 11 kills. Custer also recorded a team-high two aces and seven kills.

  The Lady Cougars will return to action on Tuesday evening as they travel to the University of Rio Grande for a Mid-Ohio Conference match.