BACK TO NATIONALS: Chargers knock off No. 17 Moraine Valley in 5 sets to win region title

MADISON, Wis. — The Sandburg volleyball team is returning to Cedar Rapids.

The Chargers on Sunday punched their ticket to nationals for the fourth time in program history with a heart-pounding 25-20, 23-25, 26-24, 21-25, 15-10 victory over Moraine Valley in the championship match of the Region 4 Division II District B tournament.

Sandburg (35-10) moves on to the NJCAA Division II Volleyball Championship from Nov. 20-23 in Cedar Rapids, Iowa. It's the Chargers' first region title and trip to nationals since the 2020-21 season. They also advanced in 2017 and 2018. National tournament seedings will be announced at 1 p.m. Wednesday on the NJCAA Network.

Seventh-seeded Sandburg came into the region semifinals as the lowest seed of the four remaining teams. The Chargers knocked off second-seeded Madison 13-25, 25-21, 25-19, 25-21 on Saturday before holding off the No. 3 seed Cyclones, who were ranked 17th in the country.

Sandburg got off to a 10-4 lead in the championship match and had a 22-15 advantage in the first set before closing it out. Down 23-22 in the third, Taylor Wagner put down one of her team-high 18 kills, and Ayla Cannon added a block to set up set point. Moraine Valley staved it off, but a Cyclones service error set the stage for a Wagner kill that put the Chargers a set away from nationals.

Moraine Valley rallied from a 13-9 deficit in the fourth to push the match to a decisive fifth. Tied at 10 in the last set, the Chargers ran away with the final five points.

Sophomore Natalie Burden pushed a kill in to the corner to give Sandburg a lasting lead, and Cannon came through with a block on the next point. A Cyclones net violation and hitting error gave Sandburg championship point at 14-10. Wagner wasted no time, clinching the title on the following point with a kill off the block.

Burden finished with 14 kills, and Cannon tallied nine along with four blocks. Olivia Falborg had three total blocks in the win, and Grace Vyhnanek handed out 47 assists.

The Chargers racked up a season-high 110 digs in the victory and had nine players record double-digit digs. Libero Madeline Mooney and freshman Abigail Shaffer each picked up 31. Burden had 18 digs, while Wagner added 13 and Vyhnanek 12.

REGION 4 DIVISON II DISTRICT B TOURNAMENT
Quarterfinals
Game 1 — No. 2 Madison def. No. 15 Bryant & Stratton 3-0
Game 2 — No. 7 Sandburg def. No. 10 Highland 3-0
Game 3 — No. 3 Moraine Valley def. No. 14 Illinois Valley 3-0
Game 4 — No. 6 Rock Valley def. No. 11 Oakton 3-0
Semifinals
Nov. 9 at Madison
Game 5 — No. 7 Sandburg def. No. 2 Madison 3-1
Game 6 — No. 3 Moraine Valley def. No. 6 Rock Valley 3-2
Championship
Nov. 10 at Madison
No. 7 Sandburg def. No. 3 Moraine Valley 3-2 

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