FTCC Volleyball earned the runner-up trophy at the Region 10 Division II Tournament on March 26, 2021. [FTCC photo by Jaclyn Shambaugh]
Fayetteville Tech volleyball capped its spring 2021 season Friday with an appearance in the NJCAA Division II Southeast B final, where the Trojans fell to Walters State 3-0.
The match wrapped a historic season for Fayetteville Tech (9-4), which produced its best finish and deepest postseason run since the program’s start in 2018.
“We’ve developed every year,” said Moe Licardo, who has coached the program all three seasons. “And this goes back to the players from the last two teams. They’re a part of this as well as the players on this year’s team.”
The Trojans earned the runner-up trophy in the Region 10 Division II Tournament, making a run to the final as the No. 3 seed before falling to regular-season champion Catawba Valley in the championship match.
As the runner-up, FTCC traveled to Morristown, Tenn., to face Region 7 champ Walters State for a spot in the NJCAA National Tournament.
The Trojans edged out to a lead early in the first set, but the Senators rallied back en route to a straight-set win.
The team’s success came despite adversity. The Trojans were poised to start in the fall season, but the covid-19 pandemic prompted the NJCAA to push nearly all competition to the spring semester.
The resulting shift left the Trojans with just two returners from the fall 2019 squad and a lean roster of eight players. The team also shrunk its schedule, playing no scrimmages and limiting regular season play to conference opponents only.