V-Ball team finishes second at Regionals

SAGU falls to DBU in championship round

Cox and seniors led team in the finals in Kansas

McPHERSON, Kansas -- Kassy Cox (Lufkin, Tx / Lufkin HS) had six kills and hit a team-best .188 in Saturday’s NCCAA Regional Finals in which Dallas Baptist University rolled to victory in straight sets (25-17, 25-9, 25-8) over Southwestern Assemblies of God University.

Under head coach Hansford "Hank" Moore, SAGU finished their season with another winning campaign at 22-15. The Lady Lions racked up their seventh consecutive year with a successful regular season (over .500) and also qualified for the Red River Athletic Conference tournament in each of their eight campaigns as a member.

It was the second year in a row they lost to DBU at the Central Regional of the National Christian College Athletic Association. The Lady Patriots (NCAA Division II) advanced to Nationals, which will again be held December 1-3 in Orlando (Kissimmee), Florida. DBU is currently 20-15.

Awaiting possible inclusion to the NCCAA Nationals

SAGU had an outside chance of earning an at-large berth at Nationals based on their seeding and history. The NCCAA's Director of Media Relations, Jerry Malone, will announce the teams that will receive an invitation on Sunday night.

Lady Lions advance to Regional Finals 

The #2 seeded Lions, who would have had to beat Dallas Baptist twice on Saturday, have yet to defeat the Pats. The regional is a double-elimination event. The day before, on Friday, they took them the distance before losing in the fifth game, 15-11.

To advance to the finals, SAGU eased by Mid-America Christian University, 3-1, then swept #3 seed York College (Nebraska) in straight sets, 3-0. The Panthers had a 20-12 won-lost record. SAGU was defeated by DBU, 3-2, though Team Lioness did outscore them, 102-100.

Southwestern then met the #1 seed in the tourney, Colorado Christian University (NCAA Division II), with the winner moving to the championship round. The Lady Cougars outpointed SAGU, 90-89, but the Lady Lions took the match, 3-1.

DBU enjoyed a great run against the nine-team field, which was hosted by Central Christian College. Saturday was their day. They hit a sizzling .441 and held SAGU to just .065. It was only the sixth time in 37 matches the Lady Lions were held under .100. DBU whacked 46 kills against only five errors in three games, while SAGU hit a collective 21 and 15.

“We just didn’t have it today,” said Coach Moore, who concluded his 12th season. “But we had a good tournament. The hosts here at Central Christian did a great job!”

Queens of the Court: Brown, Cisneros, Espinoza

It may've been the final match in the outstanding careers of Tina Brown (New Braunfels, Tx / Lifegate Christian), Krystal Cisneros (El Paso, Tx / Del Valle HS) and Laura Espinoza (Duncanville, Tx / Duncanville HS). Brown had a kill and nine digs; Cisneros five kills and two digs; Espinoza an assist and a team-high 12 digs.

Contact: Mark “Link” Warde, Sports Information Director, at This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. or at 469-658-2847.