It may not have been easy at times.
Things may have started to look bleak late in the season for the Odessa College volleyball team’s bid for national tournament spot.
However, after last week’s Region 5 Tournament run, the Lady Wranglers punched their ticket to the NJCAA national tournament after finishing second and clinching an automatic bid.
It’s the Lady Wranglers’ first trip to the NJCAA tournament since the spring of 2021 and the first under head coach Dayana Acevedo-Rios.
“It was crazy,” Acevedo-Rios said. “I think that we knew this tournament was going to be hard and we knew that we had to battle but the girls just wanted it so bad. I could sense it from the sideline that they wanted it for themselves and they put in the work and were relentless and had grit. It was good to see that at the end of the season. I was very proud of them for that.”
The national tournament will take place from Nov. 15-18 at the Hutchinson Sports Arena in Hutchinson, Kan.
Odessa College (28-6) enters as the No. 8 seed and will face Southern Idaho at 4 p.m. Nov. 15.
The Lady Wranglers defeated New Mexico Junior College in five sets last Saturday in Weatherford to clinch the second place finish.
The Lady Wranglers, who throughout the season have been consistently ranked in the top-10 in the NJCAA standings, began the first half of WJCAC play on the right note, losing only to national powerhouse New Mexico Military Institute during that stretch.
However, then came the start of second half conference play and the Lady Wranglers hit a few speed bumps.
It started with a slip up against Western Texas College, losing in five sets and followed up with a loss in straight sets to New Mexico Military Institute.
A loss in four sets to New Mexico Junior College didn’t help and the Lady Wranglers entered the Region 5 Tournament as a No. 3 seed.
However, after a sweeping win over North Central Texas College last Thursday, the Lady Wranglers soon face New Mexico Military Institute in the semifinals on the same day.
The Lady Wranglers wouldn’t disappoint, defeating NMMI in four sets to advance to the Region 5 title.
“Getting the win over NMMI felt really good,” Acevedo-Rios said. “They’re the team to beat in our conference. All along, I felt like our team, player by player, had really good talent but for some reason, they couldn’t get over the hump of understanding that NMMI is beatable. That game, it was like we broke them. Our girls were fearless. They were celebrating. That’s one of the games where I’ve seen the girls playing for each other rather than just playing for a result. They wanted to take care of each other and they paid off with the result. It was a fun game to coach.”
Odessa College lost to hosts Weatherford College in four sets in the Region 5 Championship, sending the Lady Wranglers to the consolation bracket where they defeated New Mexico Junior College.
“At the end of conference play, the girls were basically in their routine.” Acevedo-Rios said. “When we had the chance, that’s when they realized that they had to put in the work and bounce back. It was amazing to see because I knew we had the talent all along but I think they didn’t believe it especially with some of the adversity we had as a team but I think they found it and it was great to see that.”
For Acevedo-Rios, it’s her first trip to the national tournament since she was the assistant at Iowa Western when the Reivers won the national championship in the spring of 2021, shortly before becoming the head coach at Odessa College.
Acevedo-Rios talked about the experience from that year’s NJCAA tournament.
“When we won it, it was one game at a time,” Acevedo-Rios said. “We were not the strongest team or the fastest team but for some reason, that team played really well together. At that point in the tournament, it’s about who doesn’t break. Everyone is talented and it’s about who can hold on the longest. That was the conversation we had with them then and it’s the same conversation we had last week at Regionals. … It’s exciting to go back but it’s a different program, different team. I’m in a different spot. I think the girls are ready to go and I want to represent Odessa in the best way we can.”
After the Lady Wranglers came up short in their bids for a national tournament appearance in the last two years, their patience finally paid off this year.
“I think every year has been a battle,” Acevedo-Rios said. “Every year, I learn something new and what to prepare for the next year. Every year has been increasing in terms of the results that we get. This year, I think the girls just wanted it. We’ve faced a lot of national ranked teams and we’ve been pretty successful against them. Once you get to that point, it’s about them. You can give them the game plan and tell them what to do but at the end of the day, they’re the ones on the court, making the plays. They made the decision that they wanted to do this and it paid off.”
