TAYLORSVILLE, Utah (November 14, 2022) - The No. 3 Salt Lake Community College Volleyball program is back in the NJCAA tournament.

SLCC learned its seeding in this week's NJCAA Division-I Volleyball Championships, with the Bruins holding the No. 3 overall seed. Salt Lake will open play on Thursday in Missouri, facing off against No. 14 Eastern Arizona. 

Bruins coach Shay Goulding Meurer said her team is excited for the challenge of playing for a national championship.

"We are looking forward to our match up with Eastern Arizona and think it will be a strong competitive game to start off the tournament," she said. "They have been playing very well all season and have beaten some solid teams. They are really strong on the right side and have some other strengths that we will not take lightly. However, we are wider and deeper in skill and offensive options, so as long as we can keep everyone firing it will be a great match and a good start to the week."

Salt Lake was ranked No. 1 in the NJCAA for several weeks during the season, posting a mark of 27-3 overall. The tournament format will feature a single match on Thursday, with the winner advancing to play a pair of matches on Friday. The NJCAA championship match is scheduled for Saturday, with consolation bracket play happening on Friday and Saturday.

Meurer noted how a team mindset is key in national tournaments.

"Our focus will be to keep everyone ready and everyone firing," she said. "Any win or loss we have will be a collective effort. I expect several players to have key moments of success this week. I expect some to come off the bench and change a whole match. I am very proud of this team as a whole and believe they have the heads to go far."

Salt Lake isn't the only Scenic West Athletic Conference team to qualify for the tournament, with USU Eastern earning the No. 8 seed in the tournament. If the Bruins win Thursday, they will advance to play either Miami Dade or Seward County on Friday.