Southwestern Downs Texas Lutheran to Advance to SCAC Volleyball Tourney Semifinal

SEGUIN, Texas - In the final match of the evening, Southwestern University defeated the host school, Texas Lutheran University, 3-0, to advance to the semifinal round of the 2019 SCAC Volleyball Tournament. Official Championships Website | Postgame Interview

HOW IT HAPPENED

• Southwestern jumped out to a 6-0 lead and eventually led 10-1 before TLU scored 16 of the next 24 points to cut the Pirates lead to 18-17. SU outscored the Bulldogs down the stretch to take the 25-22 win.
• There were nine ties and two lead changes in set two but Southwestern eeked out the 25-23 win.
• TLU led by as much as 19-11 and had set point at 24-21, but the Pirates scored the next five points to win the set 26-24 and sweep the match.
• Neither team hit particularly well - with Southwestern finishing at .129 while Texas Lutheran was at .045. SU had 22 hitting erriors compared to 25 for TLU.

SOUTHWESTERN STATISTICAL STANDOUTS

• Riley Brantley: 11 kills, 6 block assists, .391 hitting percentage
• Lauren Crabtree: 10 kills, 14 assists, 17 digs, .250 hitting percentage
• Emma White: 9 kills, 12 digs, 2 service aces
• Ali Grona: 23 digs, 3 assists

TEXAS LUTHERAN STATISTICAL STANDOUTS

• Kacie Hall: 10 kills, 5 digs
• Jaci Chambers: 18 digs, 14 assists
• Peyton Sulak: 4 block assists, 1 block solo, 6 kills
• Lexi Morris: 19 digs

NOTABLES

• Lauren Crabtree had her league-high fourth triple double of the season.
• This marks the ninth straight year Southwestern has advanced to the SCAC volleyball semifinal round.
• The two teams had split during the regular season, with Southwestern earning a 3-1 win on Oct. 1 and TLU returning the favor with a 3-1 of its own on Oct. 10.
• Friday night marked just the third time Southwestern and TLU have met in the SCAC volleyball tournament. Southwestern won the previous two meetings, including in 2017 when the Pirates defeated the Bulldogs, 3-0, in the third place match.
• Since the SCAC reinstated its postseason volleyball tournament prior to the 2007 season, and prior to tonight's result, the host school had been 9-1 in its first game of the tournament. The only other team to lose in its first match over that stretch was Austin College when it hosted the 2014 event.

UP NEXT 
Southwestern (22-13) advances to take on the second seed, Colorado College, in tomorrow's second semifinal match. That match is scheduled to start at 2:30 p.m. Texas Lutheran ends its season with a 20-17 overall mark - the program's first 20-win season since 2014.