Rochester, MN- 

Sports fans in Minnesota have a great menu of options for NJCAA college athletics in the Minnesota College Athletic Conference on Saturday, November 4.

In Volleyball,  NJCAA Region XIII A & B champions will be crowned by late afternoon and will be off to the National tournament.  Additionally today,  two MCAC football teams will have earned the right to compete in the MCAC State Championship football game next Sunday. 

Top-seed St. Cloud Technical & Community College dispatched the M State Spartans in St. Cloud last evening by a 3-0 match scoreline to earn the right to play for the NJCAA Region XIIIA championship in front of their home crowd.  Ridgewater College outlasted Rochester Community & Technical College 3-2 (25-17 / 25-23 / 25- 17) to complete the other side of the bracket and will face the Cyclones in the championship.  Rochester CTC head coach Amber Zitzow's squad rallied late in the 2017 regular season to climb into the third playoff spot by beating the Warriors 3-0 on October, but they were unable to re-capture that magic in the post-season.   RCTC ends their season with a 16-14 overall record and M State completes 2017 with a 17-10 mark.  The Ridgewater-SCTCC  match-up will see first serve at noon.  To follow the action here: http://sctccathletics.com/sports/wvball/index

In Brainerd, unbeaten and top-seeded Central Lakes College held off #4 Itasca Community College 3-2 (22-25 / 25-16 / 25-16/25-16/15-10) to move on to the Region XIIIB championship match.  Itasca wraps up 2017 with a 12-16 overall mark.   The other semi-final also went the distance between #2 Northland Community & Technical College and #3 Hibbing Community College, burning the wick all the way down to a 18-16 fifth set in favor of the Pioneers.  The Cardinals, under first-year head coach Sara Matuszak, disrupted the balance of power in the Northern Division in 2017, playing their way to the Region playoffs and almost pulled off the upset.  Click here for the NCTC-HCC match scoreline. 

Northland will seek to do something no one in the Division has done this year; beat the Raiders with a trip to the National Championships on the line.  To follow the NJCAA Region XIIIB Volleyball action at Central Lakes College please visit: http://www.clcraiders.com/sports/wvball/index

For folks looking for some outdoor NJCAA playoff viewing opportunities, the football semi-finals in Minnesota College Athletic Conference are on tap today as well. 

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Saturday, Nov. 4, Noon Bottineau, North Dakota

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Saturday, Nov. 4, 1:30pm  Brainerd, Minnesota

In Bottineau, North Dakota, Mesabi Range College will take on Dakota College-Bottineau in a Noon contest featuring two teams that have put together strong seasons in their respective Divisions.  The Norse have only lost three games this fall, while the Jacks have been even better, earning a 8-1 mark with their lone loss by three points to Rochester CTC in a game they dominated in every statistical category but the scoreboard.  Dakota features a 1-2 punch of a ground game with Elijah Todd and DeRante Sanders leading the way while Mesabi has shown the ability to bring a balanced offensive and defensive to each of six their wins this year.  First-year Norse mentor Tom Inforzato will look to find a way through DCB in wintery playing conditions. The winner of the noon contest will advance to the MCAC State Championship football game to be held at Husky Stadium St. Cloud State University on Sunday, November 12th.  To learn more, go to:   http://www.dcbjacks.com/sports/fball/index

Back to Brainerd- and to a showdown between the high-powered Northland CTC offense and Eastern Division champion Central Lakes College.  Pioneer quarterback Shannon Patrick has picked apart almost every secondary he has faced in 2017 and is found at or near the top of every NJCAA signal-calling category this season.  Patrick will have to contend with less-than-ideal playing conditions and a Raider defense that hasn't yielded more than 22 points in any games this fall.  Central Lakes has found a way to win games with offense, defense and special teams over the course of the MCAC gridiron slate and will look to find the right recipe in their semi-final match-up today against NCTC.  Kickoff at Central Lakes is at 1:30pm in Brainerd- for more coverage visit: http://www.clcraiders.com/sports/fball/index

And finally, if winter sports are of interest, Saturday will offer fans some November viewing opportunities.

The wrestling teams at Rochester CTC and Minnesota West CTC  are getting in some early-season competition with RCTC hosting their Yellowjacket Open.  For a live-stat opportunity to catch the grapplers in action, go to:  https://goo.gl/Rg1X71   The Yellowjackets, led by 2016-17 NJCAA Non-Scholarship Coach-of-the-Year Randy Rager, and the BlueJays under first-year coach Bryan Cowdin, look to get a strong start to 2017-18 season.  MCAC Wrestling is at: http://www.mcacsports.org/sports/wrest/index

In both women's and men's hoops, Anoka-Ramsey Community College and Rochester CTC will take to the hardwood in early November non-league action.  For MCAC Basketball Pre-Season Polls and Previews, click here for Men's and here for Women's previews.  

MCAC Basketball schedules can be found at: http://www.mcacsports.org/landing/index

The Minnesota College Athletic Conference website main page is: http://www.mcacsports.org/landing/index

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This release sponsored in part by Gopher Sport. 

Gopher Sport, based in Owatonna, is an industry leader in Physical Education, sports and fitness equipment.  Gopher Sport is dedicated to providing programs and departments with the products to improve fitness, develop skills, create fun and reach a high standard of learning and living. Gopher Sport has diligently served teachers, coaches and athletic directors around the world for over 65 years.