TALLAHASSEE, Fla. (April 18, 2021) - Region 8 teams fared well at the NJCAA Volleyball Tournaments, highlighted by Miami Dade College's third-place finish at the Division I tournament while Gulf Coast State College placed sixth at the Division II championships.

Division I recap

In West Plains, Mo., FCSAA State Champion Miami Dade took an undefeated record and the No. 1 seed into the 16-team field. 

After a relatively easy four-set win against 16th seed Lawson (Ala.) State Community College in the opening round, the Sharks were pushed to the brink in the quarterfinals, needing five sets to oust eighth-seeded Blinn (Texas) College. 

Meanwhile, Florida SouthWestern State College, who was making its national tourney debut after earning an at-large bid, entered tournament play as the No. 6 seed.

The Bucs' first-round match was ruled a no-contest after 11th-seed Navarro (Texas) College encountered COVID-19 issues the day before. Without stepping foot on the court, FSW was into the quarterfinal round against No. 3 seed Snow (Utah) College. There, the Bucs came up on the short end of a straight set loss to the Badgers. 

Florida SouthWestern moved into the consolation bracket, where it fell to second-seeded Odessa (Texas) College, 3-0, then to Utah State Eastern University, 3-1, to finish eighth. 

Miami Dade's semifinal match with No. 5 seed Iowa Western Community College didn't go much better, as the Reivers pulled the straight-set upset en route to winning the national championship. The Sharks rebounded the following day, defeating No. 7 seed Tyler (Texas) Junior College in four sets to finish third. 

Miami Dade's Erika Ascencio and Florida SouthWestern's Yasso Amin were named to the All-Tournament team. 

Division II recap

Gulf Coast State made its second straight trip the national tournament and showed that Division II volleyball in Region 8 will be a factor on the national landscape moving forward. 

The eighth-seeded Commodores picked up a straight-set win over No. 9 seed Grand Rapids (Mich.) Community College in the opening round before falling to the top seed, Illinois Central College, in four sets in the quarterfinals. 

Undeterred, Gulf Coast State knocked off fifth-seeded Kirkwood (Iowa) Community College, 3-1, in consolation bracket play before falling to No. 10 seed Sauk Valley (Ill.) Community College, 3-2, in the fifth-place match. 

Emma Richards was named to the All-Tournament Team.