Echo staff report
Harper College celebrates after winning the National Junior College Division III national championship Nov. 12 at the Regional Sports Center on the RCTC campus. (Photo courtesy of the National Junior College Athletic Association)
Harper College of Palatine, Illinois, swept past Ridgewater College of Willmar, Minnesota, 3-0 to win the volleyball National Junior College Division III national championship Nov. 12 at the Regional Sports Center on the RCTC campus.
Harper, the No. 1 ranked team in the nation, won 25-21, 25-22, 25-19. The Hawks finished the season with a 43-1 record. Ridgewater, ranked No. 2 in the nation, finished with a 26-6 record.
In two days, Harper beat No. 8 seed Queensborough (New York), No. 4 seed Central Lakes (Brainerd, Minnesota) and No. 2 seed Ridgewater. The Hawks won nine of 10 sets at the national tournament, dropping one frame to Central Lakes in the semifinals.
This is the 16th consecutive year that Rochester has hosted the NJCAA Division III volleyball national championship.