HOT SPRINGS, Ark. – Southwestern Oklahoma State captured the 2015 Great American Conference Volleyball Championships – Presented by Subway by defeating Southern Arkansas in four sets on Saturday from the Bank of the Ozarks Arena. Bulldog setter Kayla Hebert earned Tournament MVP honors as the Bulldogs secured their first trip to the NCAA Tournament.
GAC Volleyball Championships –
Presented by Subway: Final |
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| #4 Southern Arkansas (20-14) |
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| #3 Southwestern Oklahoma State (22-11) |
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| OFFENSIVE LEADERS: |
| Southern Arkansas: |
Serena LeDuff: 18 kills, 21.0 points scored |
| Shelby Lauterbach: 17 kills, .298 attack percentage |
| Taylor Reaume: 44 assists |
| Southwestern Oklahoma State: |
Jill Green: 16 kills, .306 attack pct, 17.5 points scored |
| Carly Zak: 14 kills, 18.0 points scored |
| Kayla Hebert: 42 assists |
| DEFENSIVE LEADERS: |
| Southern Arkansas: |
Hannah Rice: 30 digs |
| Kaitlyn Reiner: 5 blocks |
| Paige May: 16 digs |
| Southwestern Oklahoma State: |
Hebert: 27 digs |
Kelsi Schmidtberger, Paige Holt,
DeLayni Fine: 6 blocks each |
| Klemson Lancaster: 20 digs |
FIRST SET HIGHLIGHTS:
The Bulldogs hit .239 and used a 6-1 run in the middle of the set take the early lead. Jill Green and Carly Zak combined for 11 kills and a .333 attack percentage to pace the team. SWOSU totaled five blocks and while Hebert added 12 digs in contributing to the Lady Muleriders’ .068 opening-set attack percentage. LeDuff registered five kills, Reaume added 11 assists and Rice contributed 11 digs for SAU.
SECOND SET HIGHLIGHTS:
SWOSU continued its strong attack game as the Bulldogs outhit SAU .233-.044 and committed only two errors. Green hit .667 with four kills while Hebert reached double figures in assists and kills for the third-straight match. SWOSU racked up four additional blocks in the set.
THIRD SET HIGHLIGHTS:
After hitting only .058 through the opening two sets, the Lady Muleriders pushed the match to a fourth set by hitting .244. Lauterbach paced the offense by tallying five kills without an error for a .556 attack percentage. Reaume added 13 assists and a pair of digs to record her third double-double of the GAC Championships.
FOURTH SET HIGHLIGHTS:
Down 22-18, SWOSU stormed back with five-straight points and claimed the championship on a kill from Schmidtberger. Schmidtberger and Zac led the offense with four kills in the set and Hebert added 13 assists. Lauterbach finished her strong title-game performance with six kills in the set.
NOTABLES:
- * All-Tournament Team: SWOSU - Hebert (MVP), Zak, Schmidtberger; SAU - LeDuff, Rice; Southern Nazarene – Abbey Bell; Arkansas Tech – Katie Huff
- * Hebert: Second setter to earn Tournament MVP honors (Arkansas Tech’s Amber Cerrillos in 2013)
- * Teams winning the opening two sets of a GAC Volleyball Championship improved to 21-0
- * SWOSU dropped only two sets at the GAC Championships – the second-fewest in the five-year history of the event
- * The Bulldogs tied the GAC Championship single-game record with 14 blocks
- * Schmidtberger set the record for GAC Volleyball Championships record with 20 blocks for the Championship
WHAT’S NEXT:
Southwestern Oklahoma State advances to the NCAA Championships; The NCAA.com Selection Show streams at 6:30 p.m. on Monday.