Coach Whitehead post-game interview:
Re-Watch the Game on Game Central
Springfield, Mo. – Evangel advanced through the Opening Round of the NAIA National Championship Tournament on Saturday with a five set win over Our Lady of the Lake (Tex.) (25-19, 25-22, 19-25, 15-25, 15-10) at the Ashcroft Center in Springfield, Missouri.
After winning the first two sets, Evangel, ranked 18th in the NAIA, had a 15-13 lead in the third but the Saints, playing in their first NAIA national tournament in program history, stormed back. Our Lady of the Lake outscored Evangel 12-4 to close out the third set for a 25-19 win that kept them alive. The Saints then kept momentum through the fourth set beating the Crusaders 25-15 and pushing the match to a fifth set.
The Saints took a 3-1 lead in the fifth but Evangel answered with a 6-2 run. OLLU came back yet again and had the fifth set tied at 7-7. The Crusaders then scored the next four points and moments later with a 14-10 lead, Chloe Hadley's ace clinched the win for Evangel with a 15-10 victory in the fifth set.
Evangel's Morgan Kensinger had 15 kills and 7 blocks to lead the Crusaders. Morgan Smith had 25 digs while Maddie Baumann had 25 assists and Hadley added 24 assists.
Our Lady of the Lake was led by Kendall Groff with 16 kills and 6 blocks. Stephanie Rubio added 26 digs while Janelle Solis had 29 assists.
The Saints, who earned an automatic bid to the national tournament as the Red River Athletic Conference champions, ended their season with a record of 24-5.
Evangel improved to 38-5 and they advance through the national tournament's opening round for the second straight season. The Crusaders will enter pool play in the round of 24 in Sioux City, Iowa starting Dec. 1. The NAIA will announce the round-robin pairings on Sunday.
