CORPUS CHRISTI, Texas – The top-seeded Southeastern Lions claimed their second straight Southland Volleyball Tournament Championship with an overwhelmingly dominant performance over No. 2 Texas A&M-Corpus Christi in straight sets on Sunday afternoon inside the Dugan Wellness Center.
The Lions join an exclusive club including A&M-Corpus Christi, Stephen F. Austin, Central Arkansas, Texas State, and UT Arlington as the only programs in Southland Volleyball history to repeat as tournament champions. They have now won 22 straight matches and will move on to the NCAA Volleyball Championship for the second straight season.
Despite A&M-Corpus Christi hitting a solid .223 as a team, it was no match for the Lions as they came in on a mission. Southeastern hit a white-hot .360 in the match with an incredible 50 kills to only nine errors.
It was an incredible first set between the top two teams in the conference as there was only a combined three errors between the two sides. Despite the close numbers, Southeastern threw the first punch as a flurry of attack from Kailin Newsome, Rachel Hartmann, and Jacqueline Arrington opened up a 10-5 lead.
The Islanders chipped away behind a brilliant first set from Leah Stolfus to cut the deficit down to two at 19-17, but a four-point rally behind Newsome and Hartmann's hot hitting led Southeastern to a 25-18 first-set victory. The Lions had a remarkable 19 kills to only two errors.
The Lions did not slow down in set two as they jumped out to a 6-0 lead behind three blocks from Hartmann and Hannah Brewer. The Lions pushed that lead to 12-3 and never looked back, hitting .364 in the set with 15 kills to three errors. A&M-Corpus Christi made some mini-runs but never got closer than four as Southeastern took the set, 25-20.
SLU got another hot start in the third set, rushing out to an 8-1 lead, but this time the Islanders found their footing and was able to battle back and cut the deficit to 14-12.
However, that is as close as the Islanders could get as the Lions attack was too good on this day as Newsome and Hartmann closed the door shut and finished the final set off, 25-18, to claim the title.
Newsome was named Tournament MVP and for good reason, finishing the championship match with an astounding 21 kills and a jaw-dropping .474 hitting percentage. Hartmann was not far off with 14 kills with only one error and a .433 hitting percentage. Cicily Hildalgo added 10 kills and was named to the All-Tournament Team. Gracie Duplechein added 35 assists and was named to the All-Tournament Team.
Leah Stolfus was named to the All-Tournament Team for the Islanders with 12 kills, while Belle Morgan had 31 assists and was also on the All-Tournament Team.
Defensively, Duplechein had 12 digs along with Ansley Tullis with 10, while Hartmann had 10 digs and five blocks. Kayla White lead A&M-Corpus Christi with 12 digs.
Southeastern will find out their destination on Sunday, November 26th on the NCAA Volleyball Selection Show before the first round of competition.