PALATKA, Fla. - For the first time in program history, the Northwest volleyball program is competing into the month of November.

With the Lady Rangers' Region 23 championship victory against Pearl River last weekend, Northwest set out Wednesday morning for the Sunshine State to prepare for the FCSAA/NJCAA Division II Gulf District Tournament, hosted by St. Johns River State College.

This is the first trip to the next stage of postseason play for coach Allison Burchyett and the Lady Rangers after only three years of existence. The matches will take place November 4-5, with Northwest first taking on St. Johns River State at 10:30 A.M. Central.

Northwest comes into the match as the No. 6 seed in a seven-team field. The Lady Rangers (15-13) are led by Micah Swift, who leads the team in kills (211) and ranks second in total blocks (72). Five more freshmen have amassed 100-plus kills throughout the season, including Kennedy Smith (185), Jacia Hayes (161) and Kailey Gooch (145). 

Cristen Cleveland has a team-best 42 service aces, followed by 34 from sophomore Kayla Beal, who also leads the team with 305 total digs. Hayes' 75 total blocks leads the team in that category, while the sophomore duo of Lia Ramos and Brinley Steed have totaled 474 and 238 assists, respectively.

Aside from being this weekend's tournament host, St. Johns River State College is the third-seeded team with an overall record of 20-14. The Lady Vikings are led in kills by Cassidy Casey (310) and Emma West (214), while Julianne Lindsey has a whopping 940 assists on the season.

Casey also plays a pivotal role on defense, totaling a team-high 80 blocks for an average of 0.72 blocks per set. In digs, Alina Schneider and Katelynn Wright lead the Lady Vikings with 448 and 295, respectively.

This is the first meeting between the two programs. The winner will advance to the tournament semifinals later Friday evening against the winner of No. 2 seed Gulf Coast State and bottom-seeded State College of Florida. 

All matches will be streamed live at this link, courtesy of the Florida College System Activities Association.