Post season play has finally arrived, and the Midwest Christian College Conference Volleyball Tournament is set to start this week in Joplin, MO. 

After a 3-0 win over both Emmaus Bible and Faith Baptist Bible, the Lady Thunder became the Regular Season Champions (10-0, 20-8 overall) and got the #1 seed.

Head coach Lauren Sanders had this to say about the team, “We are playing really high level volleyball right now and peaking right at the perfect time. We were down 12-14 in the third set against Faith this weekend and came back to win 25-14 with Elise Corbett serving 13 balls straight. The team really rallied together to prove who they are!" 

MCC will travel to Joplin, MO on Friday, October 29 for a 5:00pm game against the winner of #4 Faith Baptist and #5 Calvary University in the Midwest Christian College Conference Tournament.  

In the first NCCAA DII Power Rating of the 2021 volleyball season, Manhattan Christian has earned the number 2 spot with a rating of 3.946. Along with their power rating, MCC holds strong at the number 2 place in the NCCAA DII Top 10. It has taken a tremendous amount of hard work to get to this point! With an 18-6 overall record and 8-0 record in conference the Lady Thunder are looking impressive heading into their last week of regular season play.

Leading up to this week the Lady Thunder went 5-1, starting with a trip to Barclay College where they won 3-1. The first weekend of October was a big weekend for MCC with 3 ranked region matchups. MCC began the weekend with a 3-0 sweep of Arlington Baptist University. The following day Randall University gave them a battle that resulted in a 3-1 loss, but Manhattan bounced back against Dallas Christian College, taking them in 3 sets. A quick trip to Calvary University on October 12 finished a seven-game road swing with a win in the 3 against the Warriors. 

Before heading into their last conference road games, Manhattan hosted their last regular season game against Barclay on October 19. A night with many emotions, MCC got out hot seeing senior Grace Shurts serve 19 straight points in the first set to win 25-5. Keeping the momentum going into the second, the ladies pulled out another solid win, 25-7. In the final game it was a little closer, but MCC stayed strong to win 25-17. 

Next up: Friday October 22 at Emmaus Bible College at 6pm. Saturday October 23 at Faith Bible College at 3pm

The NCCAA has announce the top 10 ranking for Division II Volleyball and our Lady Thunder continue to hold steady in the number 2 spot. 

Since the last rankings were posted back in September, Manhattan Christian has gone 3-2 in the last 5 outings. Hosting Kansas Christian College and Ozark Christian back on September 24, MCC came out strong toping each team 3-0 on Senior Night. The ladies then followed suit September 28 against Calvary University having an outstanding performance, taking each 3 sets (25-12, 25-17, 25-9).

The Lady Thunder then traveled to Nevada, Mo for a Tri-Match with two NAIA teams this past weekend. Manhattan put up a good run but fall short against Oklahoma Wesleyan University, dropping all 3 sets. Next was host, Cottey College where it was very much back and forth but in the end the Thunder couldn't hold on going 2-3. 

Next up: MCC travels to Barclay College for a Midwest Christian College Conference match at 7pm October 5.        

Going to college during the pandemic has made everything feel at times as if it were moving in slow motion and then other times at the speed of light. At almost two years long seniors today were only sophomores at the beginning of this and have had to adapt to constant change in every aspect of life. On Friday night at Howie's Activity Center the MCC Volleyball team celebrated their loan senior, Grace Shurts, with two 3-0 victories over Kansas Christian College and Ozark Christian College. 

On the floor Shurts shined as a statistical leader. The former conference MVP and all-region selection finished in the top three on the team that night in multiple categories as the Thunder were able to advance their record to 12-3 on the season. That 12-3 start is the best 15 game start for the program since the 2013 season when that team advanced all the way to the NCCAA final four. 

More importantly than her statistical value Shurts showed once again why she has been the constant leader for the team. As Coach Sanders said during the senior celebration, "Grace has been a constant Christ-like presence on our team over the last four years and she will be sincerely missed." Grace Shurts and the rest of her teammates will be back in action on Tuesday night as they play host to Calvary University for a 7:00 pm first serve. 

Manhattan Christian Athletics is excited to announce that both Volleyball and Men’s Soccer are both ranked in the National Christian College Athletic Association Division II Top Ten Rankings. 

After an excellent performance last week, Thunder soccer climbed up from #7 to #5. This caps off a weekend where head coach Dr. Rick Wright reached the milestone of 400 career wins. 

On the volleyball side, the Lady Thunder have had an outstanding start to the season. This past weekend proved some tough competition against two NAIA teams. Despite tough losses, MCC still holds on to the #2 spot for the second week in a row. 

To see both poll in its entirety click here

The #2 ranked Lady Thunder have started the 2021-22 volleyball season strong, beginning with a solid 3-1 home weekend opener at the Thunder Invitational on August 27 & 28. Manhattan Christian hosted 4 NAIA teams and only lost to Sterling College in a hard-fought match. MCC defeated Cottey College, York College and Central Christian College (KS). The following week was filled with travel days to Spurgeon College coming away with a 3-1 victory. Up next was the Midwest Christian College Conference Classic. MCC came away with two solid wins over Emmaus Bible College and Faith Baptist Bible College both in three sets. Head Coach Lauren Sanders had this to say about the Classic, “We had a strong showing at the Conference Classic. It was great to be able to see all of the other conference teams and see where we stacked up. Our team played excellent volleyball in a tough atmosphere to play in. We were really proud of the continued effort and growth that we saw.”

This past week saw road victories, first stop was at Kansas Christian College coming away with a 3-0 win. MCC then traveled down to Joplin, MO to take on rival Ozark Christian Friday evening and Dallas Christian on Saturday. Against Ozark, MCC came out strong and easily controlled the match, winning 3-0.  Saturday would bring on #10 ranked and 2020 NCCAA National Tournament Runner Up Dallas.

This match would prove to be a full-on battle, with both teams giving it all they had. Both teams had a lot to prove, and each team stepped up to the challenge. In what would be a back and forth 5 set match, MCC would prevail with a 3-2 win over Dallas. The scores were close, and several sets went beyond 25 points (21-25, 28-26, 24-26, 25-22 and 17-15. MCC overcame deficits in almost every set including the 5^th, down 4-8 at one point and pulling it out in the end.

“This was an incredible match! Both teams played with an incredible amount of intensity and heart! I was so proud of the way-out team pulled together and truly played for their player next to them and not for themselves” stated Sanders. Brenna McNellis would run the middle finishing with an incredible 27 kills with a .500 attacking percentage.

With Brenna’s outstanding play on Saturday and in earlier matches of the week, McNellis has been named the NCCAA Student Athlete of the Week. A well-deserved honor for her excellent play!

Manhattan Christian is currently 9-1 overall and sitting nicely at the top of the MCCC with a conference record of 3-0. Up next for the Thunder will be a string of home games starting September 14 with Spurgeon College, followed by a tri-match day with NAIA teams, Stephens College and Bethany College (KS) on Saturday, August 18.

In the first NCCAA II Top Ten Coaches Poll of the season the Thunder Volleyball team finds themselves as the #2 ranked team in all the land. After a 6-1 start to the regular season, including a 3-1 record against NAIA competition, MCC earned 38 points in the poll leaving them only one point shy of being ranked number one. Along with MCC there are three other NCCAA SW Region teams ranked in the top ten with Randall at #4, Arlington at #7 and Dallas at #10. Conference opponent, Faith Baptist, found themselves ranked #9 in this weeks poll. 

MCC is back in action tonight at Kansas Christian College at 7:00 pm. You can see the poll in it's entirety here.

After leading her team to a 3-1 opening weekend, sophomore setter Elise Corbett has been named the National Student-Athlete of the Week by the NCCAA for DII Volleyball. Over the course of the weekend the Thunder took home victories over NAIA opponents Cottey College, York College and Central Christian College (KS). During that stretch she averaged 9.43 assists per set along with 3.57 digs per set. Corbett has been a leader for this Thunder squad throughout the offseason and now into the first week of play. MCC will be back in action tomorrow night as they travel to Spurgeon College for the first region match of the year. Congratulations, Elise! 

See official NCCAA release here