The Oregon Ducks (27-5, 16-4 PAC-12) bested Lady Lion volleyball (28-5, 17-1) in a 3-0 sweep (25-16, 25-13, 25-13) at Matthew Knight Arena on Nov. 30 in the first round of the NCAA Volleyball National Championship Tournament.
Southeastern snagged a ticket to the NCAA Volleyball Tournament after winning a record-breaking 22 straight games, which included wins over SLC foes Houston Christian University and Texas A&M Corpus-Christi to win their second consecutive Southland Tournament Championship.
Unfortunately, the Ducks put an end to SLU’s dominance. Outside hitter Mimi Colyer had a team-high 11 kills, while setter Hannah Pukis had eight kills and a game-high 30 assists on the night. The duo led the way to advance Oregon into the second round of the NCAA Tournament.
Back-to-back Southland Tourney MVP Kailin Newsome and junior outside hitter Cicily Hidalgo led the way with seven kills each for SLU. Newsome averaged a staggering 15.3 kills per game for the entirety of the postseason, including both SLC tournament contests.
Junior setter Gracie Duplechein had a team-high 18 assists, while senior defensive specialist Ansley Tullis and Southland Newcomer of the Year award winner Rachel Hartmann added nine digs each.
The Lady Lions took a 12-9 lead early in the first set following a 4-0 run, capped off by a block from Hartmann and junior middle hitter Hannah Brewer. Oregon would quickly regroup by responding with a 16-4 run to close out the first set.
Setter Elise Ferreira had two straight aces to end the first frame 25-16, setting the tone for the remainder of the game.
In the second set, the Lady Lions showed resilience early on. After a fierce block from Newsome, the score was 9-8 in the Ducks’ favor. But yet again, Oregon rallied and went on a 5-0 run to make the game 14-9.
SLU brought the score within striking distance after an attack error from Oregon’s middle blocker Karson Bacon to make the score 16-10. Oregon proceeded to go on a 9-3 run to take a commanding 2-0 lead in the match and won the set 25-13.
The third and final set repeated the script of the first two. Southeastern and the Ducks would trade points early in the frame before Oregon would take off. The Ducks used a 12-4 run to solidify their win and the sweep.
Despite the loss to a powerhouse team, Southeastern can still hang its hat on a very successful season.
Before Thursday night, the last time the Lady Lions lost a game was on Sept. 14 against SLC rival Northwestern State University.
During their historic win streak, the Green and Gold outscored their opponents 66-7 and 16 out of their 22 wins resulted in a sweep.
Head Coach Jeremy White earned the Katrinka Jo Crawford Coach of the Year honors for the record-breaking year. Newsome and Hartmann earned First Team All-Southland honors and Hidalgo appeared on the second team.
Overall, it was another successful season for the Lady Lions that will be remembered for years to come.
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