The Lady Lions put themselves in a good position to advance to nationals Friday, but dropped their quest for the NCCAA national tournament in a semifinal loss to King College Saturday at Covenant College.
The Lions had a great run on Friday with 3-0 victories over Asbury College and Bluefield College to win their pool and advance to the semifinals. The Lions hit .256 in the two matches, and averaged 3 blocks again, proving why they were ranked #2 in the NCCAA (#10 in NAIA) in blocks per game. Jr. OH’s Alison Young and Lauren Pratt were key hitters for the Lions, each hitting 17 kills in the two matches for a combined .345 hitting percentage. Smith contributed 13 kills but was marked in both matches. Jessica Kaya dug up 20 digs on the day, while Hannah Suits dished out 36 assists in the two victories.
In Saturday’s semifinal match, the Lions fought a see-saw, emotional battle against long-time rival King College, but fell 17-25, 25-16, 15-25, 22-25. Momentum swings marked the match, with both teams serving tough and struggling receiving. Smith struggled, tallying 6 kills but 8 errors (-.087 pct). So OH Chelsie Blackburn came in at the OH position to bolster the Lion offense, and hit .357 with six kills, while Alison Young added 7 kills. The Lions blocked back 12 total blocks, but struggled digging up King’s outside hitters.
The Lions season ends with a 28-15 record, their best record since the early 1980’s.