2014 CHAMPIONSHIPS BLOG
Tuesday, December 2, 2014 SMSU volleyball team departed Founders Hall bright and early this morning for Sioux Falls Regional Airport on it’s way to Louisville, Ky. The team took off at 8 a.m. and made a connecting flight in Minneapolis before arriving in Louisville at 1 p.m. EST. The team is checked into the Hyatt Regency Hotel and picked up official credentials in the Student Athlete Lounge.
At 5:30 the team departed for Churchill Downs for the opening ceremonies and for dinner. During the awards the NCAA announced its 89 Elite Award which is an award recognizing the student-athlete with the highest cumulative grade-point average who has reached the competition at the finals site. Claire Sames, a native of Shakopee, Minn., majoring in biology and chemistry, currently carries a 4.0 GPA. She was presented the award on Tuesday night in the opening ceremony. (
release) The SMSU volleyball team also was recognized for its efforts in the classroom as it posts an average 3.75 GPA as a team and also earned the Elite award.
Wednesday, December 3, 2014 The team had breakfast at the hotel this morning before heading to Knights Hall for its 2:00 p.m. practice time spot. Greta’s flight arrived before which allowed her to join the team for practice. After practice, the team had a late lunch before heading to the Boy’s and Girl’s Ranch where they interacted with boys and girls from the ages 6-16. The team played volleyball and basketball with them as well as helped serve dinner. After the Ranch, the team headed to a nearby hotel for a Christmas light show. The team quick grabbed a late dinner at Smashburger before having a team meeting. Tomorrow is GAMEDAY!
Thursday, December 4, 2014 Today was game day! The team had breakfast at the hotel and headed to Knights Hall at 11:30 am to catch the Wingate vs Grand Valley State match before its own. GVSU defeated Wingate to move on to the semifinal round. SMSU took on Sonoma State in its match starting at 1:30 CST. The Mustangs got down 2-0 in the match but came back to win 3-2 for its second come-from-behind win this season. SMSU will play Grand Valley State in the semifinal round tomorrow (Friday) at 2:00 pm CST.
Friday, December 5, 2014 SMSU volleyball team had breakfast at 8 am this morning at the hotel once again before having a team meeting to over film. The team had some down time before heading to Subway for lunch and then headed to Knights Hall. SMSU matched up with Grand Valley State in the semifinal game and the winner was heading to the National Championship match. The Mustangs went on to sweep the Lakers and earned their way for a chance at the title. The team stayed and watched Tampa and Arkansas-Fort Smith play. Tampa swept UAFS and will play SMSU in the tournament finale. The team then headed to TGI Fridays for dinner before relaxing the rest of the night.
