The Scotties' Volleyball season came to a close last week with a five-set battle to Neosho County Community College in the championship round of the Region VI tournament hosted at Highland Community College.

Highland opened tournament play with a convincing four-set win over the Fort Scott Greyhounds in the 1^st round (25-21, 25-16, 16-25, 25-18). The win gave the Scotties a lengthy break as they waited for the winner of the Cowley versus Neosho County match that followed. Neosho County went on to defeat Cowley and faced Highland for the championship match, with a trip to the national tournament at stake for the winner.

Earlier in the week, Highland swept Neosho County in a regular season match, but with the season on the line the Scotties couldn't tame the visiting Panthers. Neosho County won a hard fought five-set match over the Scotties (25-20, 22-23, 25-16, 22-25, 9-15).

Head Coach Jon Bingesser said following the match, "It has been such a joy to have coached these sophomores for the last two years. Even though the weekend didn't end up as we had hoped, this was still a season that we will remember forever. We had to deal with new distractions brought on by the COVID-19 pandemic, but we were able to hold out for a conference runner-up finish and the honor of hosting the district tournament."

The future for the Scottie Volleyball program is looking as bright as ever. Bingesser added, "I am very much looking forward to next season. The girls we have returning have a full year of experience under their belts and I can't wait to see what type of leaders they become next season. We also have a very high caliber freshman class coming in this Fall. We are very thankful for the lessons this season has taught us, and we are very excited to see what next year has in store."