Parkland Volleyball wins Region 24-A title

The Parkland Cobras volleyball team traveled south to Godfrey, Illinois for the Region 24 finals with a berth for nationals on the line and they did not disappoint as the Cobras beat Lewis and Clark 3-0 and ICC 3-2 to claim their fourth straight trip to the NJCAA D-2 National Tournament. This year's finals will be held at Owens CC in Toledo, Ohio November 17-19.

#1 seed Parkland took on host #5 Lewis & Clark in the first semifinal match and defeated the hosts 3-0 - 25-20, 25-16, 25-20. Outside hitter Shannon Boone (Shelbyville) led the attack with 16 kills while co-freshman Shelby Geers (St. Joseph-Ogden) notched 11 kills. Setter Melanie Moore (Centennial) had 30 assists and 13 digs in the match. Jessica Galotta (Mother McAuley) led the defensive effort with 18 digs.

In the final match, #1 seed Parkland faced off with #2 seed ICC. Parkland had previously defeated ICC in straight sets twice during the season, and although it was a difficult fight, the Cobras prevailed for the third time this year to win the bid to nationals. Parkland won 3-2, winning by the scores of 18-25, 25-16, 27-25, 14-25, 15-6. The Cobras again were led offensively by Boone who had a career high 24 kills and Geers had 10. Moore had 44 assists and 14 digs, and Megan Scharnett (Centennial) and Dana Belcher (Warrensburg-Latham) led the defense with 19 and 17 digs, respectively.

In addition to the team title, Parkland setter Melanie Moore was named the Region 24 Player of the Year and Coach Cliff Hastings was named Coach of the Year. The remainder of the All-Region team will be announced on Monday.