By Alan Grosbach, Manager of Communications and Sports Information
Photo by Dale Grosbach Sports

SIOUX CITY, Iowa – (Full Schedule | Bracket) Tonight’s championship match will feature two-time national champion Texas at Brownsville against unbeaten Park (Mo.), as both squads earned semifinal wins Saturday afternoon at the 2014 NAIA Volleyball National Championship, presented by J&L Staffing and Recruiting.

The championship final, which is to be played tonight at 7:04 p.m., will air for the first time ever on ESPN3. To access the match, visit www.WatchESPN.com.

Texas at Brownsville swept its third opponent in four matches at the national championship with a 3-0 victory against No. 11 Viterbo (Wis.). With the win, the Ocelots improve to 3-2 all-time in the semifinals and advance to the banner match for the second-straight season – third time in the last four years.

Bojana Mitrovic and Vanja Joksic each posted double figure kills in the match, led by Mitrovic’s 11. Joskic, who was named the Red River Athletic Conference Player of the Year earlier this fall, hammered home 10 kills and hit a match-high .400. Setter Tina Sekulic registered 39 assists, while Heather Meeuwsen led the defense with 22 digs.

Viterbo, knocked off No. 8 Northwestern (Iowa) (3-1) and No. 1 Rocky Mountain (Mont.) (3-1) to appear in the round of four for the first time in program history, which was led once again by 2013 All-American Alicia Olson. The senior outside hitter tallied 18 kills in the match, upping her championship total to 122.

The V-Hawks end the season with a 39-9 record.

Park, who only dropped two sets the entire regular season, was pushed to the limit in its 3-2 semifinal win against 2013 national runner-up Biola (Calif.). The Pirates found themselves in a 2-1 hole after set three, but recovered quickly with a dominant 25-16 win in the fourth frame. The decisive fifth set was back-and-forth until a kill by Wendy Romero, followed by back-to-back blocks by Romero and Camila Leite gave Park a 3-point advantage that they would not relinquish.

The Pirates had two individuals tally 20-plus kills in the match, led by Romero’s 24. Wanessa Siqueira was the other with 21. The duo enter the finals ranked third and fourth at the national championship with 95 and 82 kills, respectively. Setter Juliana Barros ended the contest with 52 assists – her second-straight performance with 50-or-more.

Biola falls to 3-6 all-time in semifinal matches and ends the year with a 32-5 record. Three-time All-American Amy Weststeyn was a force in the middle for the Eagles, registering 17 kills and seven blocks.

For more information on the NAIA Volleyball National Championship, click here.