The 2024-2025 volleyball season officially started for the Century College Wood Ducks this past weekend, August 23-24. The Wood Ducks, ranked #2 in the NJCAA DIII pre-season polls, traveled to Rockford, Illinois for the Opening Weekend Tournament (OWT) where they had matches against nationally ranked NJCAA DIII programs and a couple of NJCAA DII programs. With a large number of new players this was the first time many of them played together in a match. "When you lose 8 players from the year before, it can take a while to find some chemistry and trust with your teammates." stated Head Coach Jay Kam. The Wood Ducks return 3 players from last year's national runner-up team. Sophomores Alexis Helmin (Foley, MN), Jalyn Wolle (Mounds View, MN), and Josie Popp (Richfield, MN) have taken on the roles of leaders and mentors to continue building a culture that has seen success at the national level in the last couple of years.
The Wood Ducks had their first match on Friday, August 23, against Finger lakes CC (NY) who is currently ranked #11 in the pre-season polls. Century got off to a shaky start in their first match of the season against Finger Lakes as the team experienced some first match jitters and some untimely errors. The Wood Ducks fell in 5 sets: 25-23, 22-25, 25-10, 23-25, 12-15.
Century was able to respond in their 2nd match of the day with a stronger showing against NJCAA DII Lake Michigan CC, winning in 4 sets: 25-16, 25-22, 20-25, 25-16.
On Saturday the Ducks were tasked to take on another NJCAA DII program, Muskegon Community College (MI). Century won in 3 sets which included a tightly contested third set: 25-21, 25-21, 31-29. Later on Saturday in their final match of the tournament, the Wood Ducks faced their biggest test of the weekend against NJCAA #3 ranked Owens CC (OH). The Ducks ended the tournament by defeating Owens CC in 4 sets: 27-25, 18-25, 25-16, 25-22.
After seeing his team for the first time this weekend, Head Coach Jay Kam is excited about the season. "We learned and grew a lot from the weekend. Not only individually, but also as a team. With so many new faces, having these trips where the team can bond is important."
Jalyn Wolle captained the team's offense with 141 assists. Newcomer and transfer Gracie Wenger (Montgomery, MN) led the team with 56 kills. AVCA All-American Alexis Helmin added 42 kills and had a hitting efficiency of .319. Freshman Lilly Wynn (North St Paul, MN) also had a good weekend with 36 kills of her own. Freshman Madelyn Robillard (Little Canada, MN) anchored the defense with 77 digs. Josie Popp led the team with 16 aces. Helmin and Robillard added aces of their own with 15 and 10 respectively.
"While we have started strong, we still have work to do. I'm excited for the makeup of this team and their potential" says Kam. The Wood Ducks finish the weekend with a record of 3-1. Their next tournament will be in two weeks where they will travel to Glen Ellyn, IL, and the College of Dupage to play four matches.
