Dec. 4, 2009

Final Stats

ST. PAUL, Minn. – It’s a NCAA National Championship final for the West Texas A&M Lady Buffs as they defeated the Flagler Saints in semifinal play with set scores of 25-17, 22-25, 25-18, and 27-25. WT continues their season with a 39-3 record while Flagler finishes their season at 36-9.

The last time WT played for a national title was in 1997.

“We’re in the national championship match and I’ve seen a lot of things happen in that match,” said head coach Jason Skoch. “It’s going to be exciting.”

“It’s what we’ve been wanting for four years,” said Laura Prinsen. “To make it to the finals, it’s a big deal.”

WT started the set down 1-3 on a couple of unforced errors, but quickly regained momentum, going on a 10-3 run to go up 11-6. With the score at 14-10, WT put together four-consecutive kills by Laura Prinsen (Sr., RS, Spring, Texas), Melissa Harper (Sr., MB, Peoria, Ariz.), and Erika Dupree (So., OH, Mesquite, Texas) to give the Lady Buffs an eight-point lead over the Saints. WT gave up some points on errors, but finished the set, 25-17, with a Natalie Johnson (Sr., OH, Cortez, Colo.) kill and a solo block by Prinsen.

The second set saw the Lady Buffs down early as the Saints put together back-to-back kills for a 5-9 lead. WT battled back to tie the set seven times before falling behind again 17-21. Two WT kills and a block brought the game within a point at 20-21, but Flagler came back with three points to bring the match to set point. Two Saints errors put the Lady Buffs back in play, but a Flagler kill finished the set 22-25.

Prinsen posted double-double numbers by the second set with 12 kills and 11 digs. Harper followed with seven kills and Johnson with five.

The Lady Buffs came out on fire in the third set as Harper put down two kills answered with Flagler attack errors to go up 4-0. Harper recorded three more kills early in the set for a 8-3 lead. At 11-6, four-point run with two service aces by Lauren Thedford gave WT a 15-6 lead. The Lady Buffs kept the pressure on, as Katie Rickwartz found the open floor on a service ace for a 10-point lead at 22-12. The Saints battled back, coming within six points, but a Prinsen kill finished the set 25-18.

Thedford tallied her third service ace to begin the fourth set, but five Flagler kills and a service ace put the Lady Buffs down 4-7. At 7-9, Rickwartz found the open court on a setter dump kill and a Saints attack error tied the set at 9-9. The rest of the game was a dog fight, seeing multiple ties and lead changes. Flagler hit three-consecutive kills to go up 21-23, but Prinsen kept the set alive with another kill. A WT attack error gave Flagler the set point, but a Dupree kill and a block tied the set at 24-24. The Saints powered a kill for set point at 24-25, but Harper came through for the Lady Buffs to tie again at 25-25. A strong WT serve put the Saints out of system for an attack error to give the Lady Buffs the match point. Katie Rickwartz put up a huge block to finish the match 27-25.

“I don’t think I’ve ever really ended the game, but it felt good to do it,” said Katie Rickwartz.

Prinsen and Harper both tallied 19 kills, carrying the team’s offense. Harper led all hitters with a .500 hitting clip with Prinsen posting a .432 hitting percentage. Prinsen also finished the night with 18 digs in her double-double outing.

Rickwartz also finished with a double-double with 48 assists and 14 digs, and led the team to a .241 hitting percentage. Flagler finished the night with a .180 team hitting clip.

The Lady Buffs were strong from the service line with seven service aces, led by Thedford with three and Rickwartz with two. Defensively, two other Lady Buffs tallied double-digit kills along with Rickwartz and Prinsen. Thedford led the team in kills with 19 and Lauren Beville recorded 16 digs. Lauren Purdy tallied three block assists and Prinsen put up two block assists and a solo block in the Lady Buffs’ six team blocks.

“We came to WT to have a chance at a national title and we just put ourselves in a position to do it,” Rickwartz said. “It’s a great accomplishment for us and it’s a great statement for WT.”

The Lady Buffs will face the winner of Cal State-San Bernardino and Concordia-St. Paul at 7:30 p.m. on Saturday, Dec. 5.