In the 38 years of Manhattan Christian College's volleyball program's existence and 30 seasons of being in the National Christian College Athletic Association, the Thunder volleyball program has captured it's first NCCAA Division II Volleyball National Championship in program history! In Head Coach Lauren Sanders's tenure of 21 seasons at the helm of the Thunder, her team finally prevails and is at the top of the NCCAA Division II volleyball world. Her team would be ranked #1 in every NCCAA Coaches Poll this season, win a seventh straight Midwest Christian College Conference Championship, win a fourth straight Region Championship, and get to the pinnacle of being a National Champion. In 2023, Sanders would make it to her first National Championship match, but would fall to Bob Jones University. On Saturday, that script would change as the Thunder would sweep the Bruins to win their first ever NCCAA National Championship. Some notables from the match were seniors, Hannah Beukelman and Liv Lubbers who had 11 and 10 kills, respectively. Lubbers would also have 14 digs to notch another double-double. Beukelman would also have four block assists for the Thunder. Senior, libero, Abby Blake, who would earn Most Outstanding Player of the National Tournament, had 17 digs on the afternoon to lead the stellar Thunder defense. This will be the second National Championship title for the Manhattan Christian College volleyball program as they won a National Bible College Athletic Association National Championship in 1993 under Wendy Cott. The Thunder complete their season with a 32-1 record, 10-0 MCCC record, 10-0 NCCAA Central Region record, and currently have a 20-match win streak headed into 2026. They also went 13-1 at the Howie's Activity Center, 12-0 away from home, and 7-0 at neutral sites. The senior class of Lubbers, Hali Clark, and Beukelman finish as the all-time winningest class in Thunder Volleyball program history with a 116-16 final record. Manhattan Christian College Athletics has now won 10 National Championships with seven being during our time in the NCCAA.

How to Follow the Thunder: For complete information and to stay up-to-date with Manhattan Christian College Volleyball, visit www.mccthunder.com and follow the team's social media pages on X and Instagram.