Point Lookout, M.O. – The two top seeds, Columbia International University and Grace College, picked up a pair of victories, while #3 Ohio Christian University and #4 Mid-America Christian University all won their single matches on day one of the 2025 NCCAA DI Women’s Volleyball National Championship on Wednesday, December 3.
 
#4 Mid-America Christian University 3, #5 Bethel University 2
 
In a rematch from Pool Play of the 2024 NCCAA DI Women’s Volleyball National Championship, #4 Mid-America Christian University avenged last season’s loss, knocking off #5 Bethel University 3-2 to open play at this year’s tournament.

• The first set was a set of runs, as Mid-America Christian opened the opening stanza with a 6-0 run, thanks to a trio of kills from Alica Obusekova. Bethel called a timeout and answered with a 7-2 run of their own, as an ace from Lily Vester and a block from Ainsley Tacke and Taylor Delp put the Pilots down just 8-7. MACU answered with another big run, going up 15-8 and forcing another Bethel timeout, as Casady McKinney got in on the action for the Evangels and took advantage of a pair of Pilot errors. A block from Liberty Pierson and Breyana Bosket got the Pilots down five late, but three kills from Seyi Atolagbe clinched the set for MACU, and the Evangels took set one, 25-17.
• Bethel opened set two with a pair of aces from Haley Bidenbach and Paige Franz, a and a block by Bosket put the Pilots ahead 6-3. The Bethel run continued thanks to kills from Bosket and Sophia Beeson, swelling their advantage to 14-8. The Evangels rallied late in the set, as a block from Obusekova and Atolagbe and an ace from Kaetlen Schier cut Bethel’s lead down to 17-14. Bethel pulled away late, going on a 7-0 run, as Tacke added a block and a kill, before another kill from Tacke clinched the set 25-15 in favor of the Pilots, and tied the contest 1-1.
• Both teams traded points in set three, but back-to-back kills from Madi Trayler put MACU ahead 19-11. A kill from Marcela Nalin put the Evangels up eight, and then back-to-back errors from Bethel ended the set with MACU taking set three 25-15 and going ahead 2-1.
• With their backs against the wall, Bethel came out firing in set four, as kills from Taylor Delp and Tacke got the Pilots up 11-5. The run continued thanks to kills from Pierson and Delp to swell the lead to ten points, and a service error by MACU ended the set for the third straight set at a score of 25-15, this time in favor of Bethel and the Pilots tied it 2-2 to force set five.
• Set five opened back-and-forth between the two squads, before a kill from Trayler sparked a run for MACU, and Benson and Obusekova added a trio of points to make it match point for the Evangels. Trayler ended it later in the set, and Mid-America Christian took the final set 15-8 and the match 3-2.
• Obusekova led MACU with 15 kills and hit .205 for the contest, adding two block assists, one solo block, and five digs. Casady McKinney added nine kills and 22 assists, along with eight digs. Despite the loss, Pierson finished the match with 10 kills and six block assists for Bethel.

 
#3 Ohio Christian University 3, #6 Clinton College 0
 
Third-seeded Ohio Christian University opened their first-ever appearance at the NCCAA DI Women’s Volleyball National Championship with a bang, knocking off #6 Clinton College 3-0 to open their section of Pool Play.

• After an early salvo from both sides in set one, Ohio Christian went on a 6-1 run, as aces from Julia Orndorf and Katie Sharp put the Trailblazers ahead 11-5. A Sierra Smith kill got the Golden Bears within six, but a pair of Kennedy Bowling kills capped another run for OCU, and Ohio Christian went on top 20-11. Another ace from Orndorf ended the first set, and the Trailblazers took set one 25-14.
• Set two saw Ohio Christian go ahead 10-6 after a kill from Kynedi Davis, but three straight service aces from Clinton’s Allison Hendricks helped the Golden Bears tie the set at ten points apiece. The two teams traded the lead for a bit, but a diving dig Emma Hannah set up Hailey Sembach for the kill and sparked a run for Ohio Christian, as a kill from Bowling gave the set to the Trailblazers 25-21.
• Set three was a back-and-forth affair, with neither team able to take an advantage early. Kills from Alexia Cunningham and Monica Burns gave Clinton the 15-13 lead, but another service ace from Orndorf put OCU up 19-17, while a second ace from Katie Sharp saw the Trailblazers go ahead 24-19. Bowling finished the set and the match with yet another kill, and Ohio Christian rolled to a 25-21 third set win and a 3-0 match victory.
• Orndorf recorded four service aces along with five kills, six digs, two block assists, and one solo block for the Trailblazers, while Bowling added 11 kills, a pair of digs, and a block assist. Cunningham had 11 kills and four block assists for Clinton in the contest.

#1 Columbia International University 3, #8 Sterling College 0
 
Top-seeded Columbia International University held off a first set scare and rolled to a 3-0 sweep of #8 Sterling College in their first game of the Pool Play

• CIU opened the first stanza with a 5-0 run, thanks to kills from Lydia Gustafson and Katelynn Mundy, along with an ace from Maria Ferreira. A pair of attack errors by Sterling kept the Rams on top, but a pair of kills from Aliya McClanahan and a kill from Chloe Schmidt tied the set at 22. After an attack error from Gustafson gave Sterling the chance to clinch the set, Gustafson responded with a kill to send the set to overtime. Both teams traded points, before a Zcearia James kill and another error by the Warriors gave Columbia International the 28-26 win in set one.
• Set two saw the Rams start to impose their will on the Warriors, as kills from Katelynn Mundy and Savannah Kelly quickly put CIU ahead 10-4. Kills from Chole Schmidt and Kaira Rodriguez cut the Columbia International lead to 14-9, but Macy Brooks and Eevy Bellar recorded a pair of points to end the run, and the Rams took set two 25-15.
• Bellar continued to roll in set three, picking up three quick kills while a Mary Norwood kill pushed Columbia International on top 9-3. Carlee Groneveld and Gustafson teamed up for a pair of blocks, and other than a pair of late kills from Schmidt and McClanahan, Sterling could not get any closer than ten points in the final set, as a Norwood kill ended the match, with CIU taking set three 25-11.
• Mundy finished the match with 10 kills, one dig, and one block assist, while Norwood added 11 kills and two block assists for the Rams. Gustafson tallied six kills and six block assists in the contest.

#2 Grace College 3, #7 College of the Ozarks 1
 
Four different players for #2 Grace College recorded double digit kills, as the defending national champions survived a scare against #7 College of the Ozarks 3-1.

• Set one opened with Grace College dominating the front line, as Livia Tate picked up back-to-back blocks with teammates Anna Elkin and Liz Schmidt to put the Lancers ahead 7-3, while kills from Levyn Snow and Leah Henderson swelled the Grace advantage to 14-10. College of the Ozarks got in on the block party, as a stop from Anna Brunner and Christa Duffel put the momentum on the Bobcats’ side, and a pair of Grace errors put CofO ahead 21-19. Kills from Duffel and Kalli Noell ended any sort of Grace College response, and College of the Ozarks took set one 25-20.
• The second set saw Grace jump out to a quick 5-1 advantage following kills from Snow and Elkin, before a pair of aces from Audrey Riley helped CofO tie the match back up at seven points apiece. Tate and Snow continued to pour it on, as the duo helped push Grace ahead 17-13. A kill from Brunner got the Bobcats down just three, but Snow plowed through with another kill to give the Lancers the 25-22 victory and tied the match 1-1.
• Set three was a role reversal to start, with College of the Ozarks jumping out to a 5-1 lead off kills from Cora Roweton and Bri Linehan. Callie Jo Celichowski got the Lancers back in the match with a pair of kills, as her and Brunner would trade kills, and the two foes traded points for a bit in the middle of the set. Back-to-back kills from Elkin helped Grace College pull ahead by four, and then an ace from Carsyn Witt swelled the Lancer lead to 21-14. Tate and Elkin again put Grace College on their backs, getting two more kills to clinch the set 25-15 and take a 2-1 advantage.
• The fourth set again saw a hot start for Grace College, as a big block from Tate and Elkin put the Lancers ahead 7-3. Two kills from Snow pushed Grace even further ahead, but a block from Brunner and Duffel got the Bobcats within one, down 16-15. Two more clutch kills from Snow put the Lancers up three, and back-to-back points from Elkin and Celichowski helped Grace ice it, with Grace College holding on in set three 25-19 and starting their national championship defense with a 3-1 victory.
• Elkin led the Lancers with 15 kills and added two block assists, while Snow had 14 kills and four digs. Celichowski recorded 12 kills and three digs, while Tate tallied 10 kills, three digs, and five block assists, picking up her 475^th career block in the fourth set.

#1 Columbia International University 3, #5 Bethel University 1
 
Top-seeded Columbia International University was the first team to reach two wins at the 2025 NCCAA DI Women’s Volleyball National Championship, defeating #5 Bethel University 3-1.

• After trading points early, kills from Savannah Kelly and Lydia Gustafson pushed Columbia International ahead 9-5 in set one. Katelynn Mundy added another for the Rams to push CIU on top 13-7, but kills from Liberty Pierson and Breyana Bosket helped Bethel cut the lead down to 13-11. A kill from Zcearia James pushed CIU back ahead 17-12, and a trio of attack errors down the stretch helped Columbia International stay on top and take the first set 25-18.
• Both teams opened the second set with 5-1 runs, as a block by Ainsley Tacke and Taylor Delp helped Bethel tie the contest at six points apiece. Another block from Delp and Haley Bidenbach and a kill from Delp pushed the Pilots ahead 10-7, before an ace from Eevy Bellar tied the match 15-15. Two blocks from Carlee Groneveld, with help from Gustafson and Bellar, put CIU out in front, and an ace from Kelcey Mangum clinched the second set 25-18 in favor of the Rams, putting Columbia International on top 2-0.
• Bethel did not go down quietly in set three, sailing out to a 6-2 lead thanks to blocks from Bosket and Tacke and another block from Delp and Pierson. A block from Gustafson along with kills from Groneveld and Macy Brooks tied the contest at 10-10. Both sides traded points for a bit before a trio of errors pushed Bethel ahead 18-14. A kill from Tacke put Bethel on top 23-19, but the Rams forced overtime after a service error by the Pilots. Ary Searle picked up a kill to put Bethel on top by one, and a miscue by CIU helped Bethel stay alive, winning the set 26-24 and cutting the deficit to 2-1.
• Columbia International wasted little time pulling ahead in set four, rattling off seven straight points to break an early tie thanks to a pair of kills from Mundy to put the Rams up 13-7. Two errors from Bethel swelled the CIU advantage to 16-9, and a block from Mary Norwood and Gustafson pushed CIU ahead 21-12. Two final kills from Gustafson clinched it for the Rams 25-14, and Columbia International picked up their second win of the day with the 3-1 victory.
• Norwood paced CIU with 12 kills while also picking up a trio of digs and three block assists. Bellar added six kills while picking up three block assists, and Gronevald had four block assists of her own.

 
#2 Grace College 3, #6 Clinton College 0
 
Second-seeded Grace College tallied their second win of the day to close out action on opening night of the 2025 NCCAA DI Women’s Volleyball National Championship, knocking off #6 Clinton College 3-0.

• Grace College started the first stanza on a 7-2 run, as kills from Molly Hofmann and Anna Elkin put the Lancers ahead early. An ace from Charla White got Clinton College back into the match, and a Sierra Smith kill tied it at 11 early on. After a kill from Doris Rodrigo tied the match back up at 15 points apiece, a block from Brea Harris and Leah Henderson sparked a Grace College run, and a kill from Henderson put the Lancers ahead 23-16. Callie Jo Celichowski ended the set with an emphatic kill, and Grace took the first set 25-18.
• Set two opened similar to set one, with Grace College taking a 7-2 advantage again, this time with kills from Livia Tate and Levyn Snow. A kill from Sierra Faulkner got the Golden Bears of Clinton College back into the match, but an ace from Reagan Owens and another snow kill put the Lancers on top 17-9. After a Tate kill put Grace ahead 21-12, kills from Alexia Cunningham and Monica Burns allowed the Bears to rally, but a service error from Clinton ended set two, and Grace College went up 2-0 with another 25-18 win.
• The Bears growled ahead in set three, taking advantage of a pair of Grace College errors and an ace from Hannah-Ashlyn Knight to go up 10-9. Back-to-back aces from Burns put Clinton ahead 13-11, but a pair of Celichowski kills and two aces from Elkin gave Grace College a 19-14 lead. A Rodrigo kill put Clinton down just 21-20 late, but kills from Olivia Martinez and Henderson ended the match, with Grace taking the final set 25-21 and winning 3-0.
• Henderson finished the night with nine kills, six digs, and one block assist to lead Grace College, while Cunningham and Burns tallied nine kills as well for Clinton. Burns picked up three aces and four digs along with one solo block in the contest.

Pool Play continues from the Keeter Gymnasium on Thursday, December 4. The first match is set to begin at 9:00 AM CT. Box scores, live stats, and live video from every game at the 2025 NCCAA DI Women’s Volleyball National Championship can be found here.
 
About the NCCAA
Established in 1968, the National Christian College Athletic Association uses intercollegiate athletics to further the Great Commission and is committed to equipping student-athletes and coaches to make a positive impact for Christ. The NCCAA currently holds 23 national championship events, along with one national invitational for 88 member schools across 28 states and two Canadian provinces. For more information on the NCCAA, visit our website, thenccaa.org, and follow us on Facebook, Twitter/X, and Instagram at @thenccaa.