Carl Sandburg College will face a familiar foe in the first round of next week’s NJCAA Division II Volleyball Championship.
The Chargers, making their first national tournament appearance, will open against No. 4 seed and defending national runner-up Lincoln Land at 2 p.m. Nov. 16 at the Charleston Civic Center in Charleston, WVa.
The 13th-seeded Chargers (25-14) and Loggers (34-6) met in the regular season, with Lincoln Land winning a hotly contested four-set match (25-10, 34-32, 24-26, 25-21) on Oct. 28 at the Parkland Fall Classic.
The winner advances to the quarterfinals later Thursday against the winner between fifth-seeded Sauk Valley and 12th-seeded Northeast (Neb.).
The losers will face each other in the ninth-place bracket Friday.
Times for second-round matches have yet to be announced.
MEN’S BASKETBALL
The Carl Sandburg College men’s basketball team continued its hot start to the season by steamrolling Rockford JV 93-42 on Wednesday night.
The Chargers (5-1) had 11 players get into the scoring column and three reach double figures. Eryon Byrd had a team-leading 15 points for Sandburg, including a trio of 3-pointers.
Kourtlandt Martin and Matt Wendling also hit double figures for the Chargers, scoring 13 points apiece.
The Chargers will play Friday and Saturday at the Oakton Classic.
Sandburg opens with the host Owls at 7 p.m. Friday and takes on Waubonsee at 1 p.m. Saturday
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Monmouth’s bench poured in 20 points as the Fighting Scots opened their season with a 75-57 win at MacMurray Wednesday night.
Leading 39-33 at halftime, the Scots began to open a sizable lead with a 10-4 surge midway through the final 20 minutes.
Lamont Mitchell’s 13 points led a balanced effort with four in double figures where Will Jones added a dozen, Austin Holman 11 and Justin Aluya 10.
The Scots open their home season Saturday with a 4 p.m. game against Coe.
WOMEN’S BASKETBALL
The Prairie Fire women’s basketball team won their season opener 82-77 against Eureka.
Jarrelyn McCall finished with a game-high, and career-high, 23 points and 11 rebounds for a double-double.
Taliah Ellis added 15 points and seven assists, while Morgan Potter scored 13 and grabbed seven rebounds.
Knox will look to stay on the winning track when they host MacMurray on November 25.
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Monmouth held nearly even in the second half, but found the first half hole too deep in a 95-70 season-opening loss to Augustana.
The Vikings kept the Scots at arm’s length despite a 21-point night from sophomore guard Jeni Crain.
Crain turned in a 7-of-15 night from the floor and a perfect 6-for-6 from the line.
Monmouth returns to action next Tuesday with a 6 p.m. game at Eureka.
VOLLEYBALL
