Former Western Nebraska Community College and Gering volleyball player Olivia Schaub is playing in two national volleyball tournaments in 2021 after helping Northwestern College to the NAIA national tournament that begins this week in Sioux City, Iowa.

                Schaub and her Northwestern College Raiders will host Pool F of the NAIA national tournament with the winner advancing to the NAIA quarterfinals on December 2 with the semifinals on December 3 and the finals the day after.

                “It is a huge honor to make it to the NAIA National tournament in Sioux City, Iowa,” Schaub, who led WNCC to the national tournament in April, said. “That has been the goal for our team since the beginning of the season, so we are excited to be able to compete for a national championship.

                The Raiders enter the NAIA national tournament that will be held November 30 through December 4, with a 18-10 record and the third seed. The Raiders will face No. 1-seed College of Saint Mary (26-5) at 9:30 a.m. MST and then No. No. 2-seed Eastern Oregon (25-7) at 4 p.m. MST. The third game of the pool between Saint Mary and Eastern Oregon will be played Wednesday.

                When Northwestern faces College of Saint Mary, they will be facing a team that is in the same GPAC conference as the Raiders. Schaub said they faced them once this season and lost in five sets on Oct. 15. Schaub played all five sets in that one meeting with Saint Mary and had five kills.

                “College of St. Mary is in the GPAC Conference with us, so we had a chance to play them at home earlier this season. Unfortunately, we lost in a very close five set match,” she said. “We know that both games will be tough battles, but we have prepared for both teams and are confident that we will play well on Tuesday.”

                There are eight pools of three teams each in the national tournament with the top team from each pool advancing.

                Schaub said her team is playing well right now and they can advance to the next round.

                “Our team is competing at a very high level right now,” she said. “We are a very young team and for most of the starters this is our first year playing on the varsity team. We have grown a lot since the beginning of the season. Every week we continue to get better and better.”

                Schaub knows the competition of a national tournament after she competed with the WNCC volleyball team last April at nationals.

                “Since both of our games are on Tuesday, it is going to take a lot of grit and determination to advance out of pool play and into the Elite 8,” Schaub said. “We have to be ready to serve and pass the ball well.”

                Last year for WNCC, Schaub finished her sophomore season with 282 kills, 99 digs, and 29 blocks.

                This season at Northwestern, Schaub has played in 85 sets and has 132 kills and 44 digs.

                Her season bests this season for the Raiders was a 13-kill, 16-point match against Evangel on September 4 and a five dig performance against College of Saint Mary.

                “This season has been going really well for me at Northwestern College. As soon as I got to campus I felt like I was at home,” she said. “All of my teammates and coaches have been so welcoming and I have enjoyed getting to know them and playing with them. “

                What helped Schaub at the four-year level was playing at a junior college since the two are very similar in competition she has faced.

                “Playing at a four-year school has been challenging but very rewarding. We have so many tough opponents in our conference which has taught us a lot about perseverance,” Schaub said. “Playing at WNCC really helped prepare me for this next step. I grew a lot in my first two years, and I had an opportunity to play at a high-level junior college and even at the national tournament last year.”

                The national tournament matches will be live-streamed at https://www.naia.org/sports/wvball/stretch_wvball