Barton Volleyball Sweeps Their Way To Plains District Title On Home Court

COLBY, Kan. – Dropping just two sets over their last eight matches, Kansas Jayhawk Community College Conference Division 1 Volleyball regular season champion Barton Community College added NJCAA Division 1 Volleyball Plains District Champions to their list of accolades to qualify for the NJCAA Volleyball National Tournament for the 23rd time in program history.

Entering postseason play coming off back-to-back sweeps against conference foes, the Cougars had little issue over the course of their three Plains District Tournament matches that took place on their home court as BCC picked up a 3-0 sweep over Pratt in the opening round before taking down Garden City and Colby on consecutive days with 3-0 victories. The sweep in the championship match was 26th of the season for the Cougars while also avenging their lone KJCCC loss after falling on their home court to Colby in four sets on October 16th as the two teams entered the Championship match with a combined record of 56-5. Of the three matches played between Barton and Colby this season, two were 3-0 sweeps by the Cougars who ensured that they would be the ones hoisting the Championship plaques on their home court in 2024 after seeing the Trojans win last year’s Plains District Title inside the Kirkman Center.

Ranked seventh in the final NJCAA Division 1 Volleyball poll of the regular season, Barton will enter the 2024 NJCAA Division 1 Volleyball Tournament with a 31-2 overall record with one of their two losses coming to National Tournament qualifier Odessa College on September 13th. The Cougars have played just one five-set match all season as they prepare to enter what is expected to be a loaded National Tournament field with each of the top four teams in the rankings having won their district tournaments and seven of the top nine in the rankings having already punched their ticket to the national tournament. With two automatic qualify bids still outstanding, the potential exists for 11 of the 12 district titles to be won by teams ranked in the top 19 of the national poll with four at large berths also up for grabs when the national tournament seeds are released on Wednesday, November 13th. The 2024 NJCAA Division 1 Volleyball National Tournament is set for November 20-23 inside the Dunn Center at Austin Peay State University in Clarksville, Tennessee.