Rochester, Minn. – The WolfPack volleyball team is national champions after surviving an epic, back and forth fight against Ridgewater College. By defeating Ridgewater 25-22, 25-19, and 25-22 the WolfPack completed the quest they began in August.

It wasn’t easy. Ridgewater College busted out of the gate taking a 12-8 lead early in the first set. With Ridgewater exploiting gaping holes in the WolfPack defense, Madison College was forced to dig deeper than they had all season long.

“Ridgewater played some of the best defense we had seen all season, ” said Toby Parker, the WolfPack volleyball coach. “I’m proud of the way our girls responded.”

Using skyscraping spikes from sophomores Danielle Crawford, Teressa Bierd and Elizabeth Mahsem the WolfPack were able to tie the first set at 18 apiece. From that point on it was all WolfPack as they held on to win the first set and dominated the second set.

With the championship trophy in sight and the realization of all the hard work at hand the WolfPack faltered at the end of the third set. Ridgewater used an 11-4 run to come within 24-22. Championship point was at stake and the WolfPack appeared to tighten. But Ridgewater was called for a service error and the WolfPack stormed the floor into a doggy pile that had been promised by team captains Danielle Crawford and Vanessa Clarson.

A championship belongs to the WolfPack now, but the accolades didn’t stop there. Coach Toby Parker was awarded national coach of the year and Terissa Bierd accepted the award for national tournament most valuable player.

Ultimately, the WolfPack proved worthy of the hype and expectations that they have carried with them all season. When the season began, Parker was nostalgic and reflective about the past. He understood that the pleasures of having a potential juggernaut at his disposal was only meaningful when put in the context of what it took to get to this point. Parker had been to the promised land before in 2009 and had come up short. Sometimes seeing the summit of the mountain and not ascending to it is worse than not getting to that point at all. For Parker this season was not only about a march into history but a validation of the past.

“Bringing this title back to Wisconsin and, more importantly, Madison College is a culmination of so many things” Parker said. “My favorite is setting a once in a lifetime goal and attaining it.”

Parker has built the volleyball program at Madison College from the ground up. He has put in countless hours devoted to recruiting, improving the games of his players, expanding the reputation of the Madison College athletic department and keeping his finger on the pulse of his players past and present.

But this season has felt different from the onset. The WolfPack carried the weight of a national number one ranking all season long. A weight made heavier by lofty proclamations that they were the best team ever assembled at Madison College.  In the end, those proclamations turned out to be right.

“This group is the absolute best team in the program’s history. I will remember this team’s resolve more than anything else. The pressures associated with a number one ranking are intense at times,” Parker said.

“To stand there and face them week in and week out during the course of a season and still walk away with a national championship? That speaks volumes of the character with this group.”

In August, Parker labeled this season as the perfect storm. Everyone seemed to believe this team would be ultra-talented and potentially spectacular.  But the team’s character, not it’s talent, has stood out to many throughout this season.

“I will remember this team’s resolve more than anything else – so smart, so talented but more than anything else, resilient,” Parker said.

That resilience enabled the WolfPack to conclude their season bringing home the first national championship in program history.