Third place at the 2023 NJCAA DI Women's Volleyball Championship Tournament will be on the line today at 4:30 p.m. when the Lady Cardinals square off with Navarro for a fourth time this season.

The fifth-seeded Lady Cardinals' hopes of title game appearance came up a little short in the semifinals Friday night. They lost 3-0 (20-25, 17-25, 20-25) to No. 1 seed and defending national champion Florida Southwestern at the Hutchinson Sports Arena in Hutchinson, Kan.

Navarro, the tournament's No. 7 seed, was a 3-1 victim to third-seeded Miami Dade in its semifinal.

Florida Southwestern and Miami Dade are scheduled to play for the championship tonight at 7.

The Lady Cardinals have a 2-1 edge on Navarro in matches this season. In Region XIV Conference play, the two teams split a pair – each winning at home. In the regional tournament title game, the Lady Cardinals were a 3-0 winner.

The Lady Cardinals bring a 32-6 record into the match, the 32 wins representing the most for a season in the program's 14-year history. They are also assured the best-ever finish for the college, topping a fifth-place showing in 2018.

Navarro, which won the NJCAA title in 2019, is 33-4.

The Lady Cardinals were fully engaged against Florida SouthWestern from the start. The led 9-4 early on before the Bucs found their groove, eventually knotting the score at 10-10. Though the Lady Cardinals never went away, the Bucs were in command, finishing with one last surge late in the set.

In the second set, Florida SouthWestern, 30-1, went on a 4-0 run midway through. That opened a 15-10 advantage and proved enough cushion.

The third set saw the Lady Cardinals race out to a 6-2 lead only to have the Bucs reel them back in to tie the score at 7-7. Florida SouthWestern, which has won 25 matches via 3-0 scores now this season, outscored the Lady Cardinals 18-13 the rest of the way.

Genesis Rodriguez led the Lady Cardinals with 14 kills. Emma Bednarek added 10.

Azul Pilahg had 30 assists and Sofia Velez tallied 14 digs.

Today's third-place match will be available only on ESPN+. A subscription fee is required. Here is the link: NJCAA Volleyball Championship (3rd Place Game) (11/18/23) - Live Stream - Watch ESPN