The Lady Lions volleyball team fought their way into the NCCAA National Championship Final Four with a 3-2 victory over rival King College in their final pool play match.
The Lions came into the day leading their pool 2-0, but faced #1 Mount Vernon Nazarene in their morning match. The Bryan team dropped a heartbreaker marathon match 3-2 (22-25, 25-22, 18-25, 29-27, 13-15) to the #1 seed, who advanced to the Final Four as well. In the loss, MB Amber Smith (13 kills, 2 solo and 5 assisted blocks) and OH Alison Young (16 kills, .333 pct) guided the Lion offense. Jessica Kaya dished up 23 digs to guide the Lion defense, while Jessica Jones contributed 16 digs to the effort. Amanda Manke distributed 26 assists in the loss.
Needing a win to advance, the Lions squared off against region rival King College, which beat the Lions in the regular season then ended the Lions run at the regional tournament by defeating Bryan 3-1. The match was closely contested early, with Bryan winning the first set 25-22, but King held the Lions off in the second 25-21. King charged ahead for a 25-14 win in the third set but the Lions rebounded with a strong effort in the fourth for a 25-15 win. The fifth was close the entire set, with King leading 8-6 as the teams changed sides. King held the lead at 13-11 then 14-12, but the Lions resiliency paid off as they fought off two match points to take a 15-14 lead. The teams traded points, but Ashley Sours hammered home the match point and the Lion side burst into celebration.
Amber Smith was unstoppable with 16 kills and four assisted blocks, while Ashley Sours contributed 9 kills (.346 pct) and 6 assisted blocks. Alison Young contributed a double-double effort, with 12 kills and 13 digs. Defensively, Jessica Kaya dug up18 digs while Courtney Cotter led with 20 digs. Hannah Suits had one of her best defensive matches of the season, finishing with 17 digs, and 20 assists, while Amanda Manke distributed 25 assists as well. Freshman OPP Kaylan Dilts came off the bench in set three and finished with 7 key kills to bolster the Lion effort.
Pool A saw five 5-set matches (three with the Lions). The Lions, 31-16 overall, eclipsed the 30 win marker for the first time in 28 years, and defeated King College for the first time since the 2003 season. The #8 seed Lion squad advances to their first Final Four in Bryan College history and will face Campbellsville University, the top seed from the Lions' region and the #2 overall seed in the tourney, while #1 Mount Vernon will face off against #6 Malone University. The Lion match will begin at 12:00pm ET. Click here to watch the match.
