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PORT HURON — For the second straight season, the Southwestern Michigan College volleyball team came to a close at St. Clair County Community College at the Great Lakes District A Tournament.

The Roadrunners went 0-2 in Port Huron and ended their season with a 23-13 overall record. Southwestern was 14-20 last season, its first season back on the court in more than 25 years.

“I am so incredibly proud of what this team accomplished this season,” said SMC Coach Jenny Nate. “I am so grateful for our sophomore leadership and dedication as we have built this program from the ground up the past two years and for them believing in the dream and vision of what this program can be; they have paved the way for our freshmen and future players to continue to build winning teams and a championship level SMC volleyball program.”

For the second straight match, the Roadrunners fell to Muskegon Community College in five sets.

The Jayhawks knocked Southwestern into the consolation round with a 24-26, 13-25, 25-20, 25-20 and 15-7 on Thursday night. Macomb Community College eliminated the Roadrunners with a 25-22, 25-14 and 25-19 victory Saturday morning.

“It was like a repeat of our match against them a week ago, however, we came out much stronger and smarter in our opening sets this time,” Nate said. “We prepared defensively and offensively and were able to take a two-set lead. We couldn’t maintain control of the match, however, and Muskegon came back and took the final three sets. Muskegon is a tough team, and these are the types of matches that help us keep getting stronger and tougher.”

Not only did Southwestern Michigan improve its overall record by nine wins, it also improved its finish in the Michigan Community College Athletic Association Western Conference. The Roadrunners were 5-7 in 2022, but reversed that record to 7-5 this fall, which was good for sole possession of third place.

Southwestern Michigan received numerous postseason awards, which were announced on Thursday.

“Our goal is to keep leveling up each season, and we did that this year with a 25-13 overall record, third in the conference with a 7-5 conference record, back to back trips to the postseason tournament, and various players winning several individual awards,” Nate said.

Those awards included Nikki Nate winning MCCAA Western Conference Player of the Year, All-MCCAA Team, first team All-Conference, and was a four-time Player of the Week; Josie West won first team All-Conference and the All-Freshman team; Emma Beckman won second team All-Conference; and Bianca Hobson won second team All-Conference.

“They will take a well-deserved break for a few weeks and then we will back working on strength, conditioning and focused in on our spring season,” Nate said. “The future is bright for SMC volleyball, and we will be back.”