Wide Open Field at Volleyball Regionals
Lady Lion Netters Focused in OKC
OKLAHOMA CITY, Oklahoma -- Seeking their fifth Central Regional title in the past six years is the focus of the Southwestern Assemblies of God University women's volleyball team.
SAGU is one of five teams vying for a berth in the National Christian College Athletic Association's Nationals in Orlando next month. The competition will be tougher than a year ago when the Lady Lions swept all three of their matches en route to a #3 seeding at nationals.
Head Coach Hansford "Hank" Moore has coached Southwestern to five straight seasons of 20-wins or more, the only school in the Red River Athletic Conference to do so. To make it six campaigns in succession, the 18-17 Purple Pride must go 2-0 in OKC to accomplish this feat.
Southwestern vs Dallas Baptist at 5:00pm - Watch it Live!
As the tourney's #3 seed, the Lady Lions have their work cut out for them. They face the #2 seeded Dallas Baptist University (16-18) today at 5:00pm at the Gaulke Activity Center on the campus of Mid-American Christian University.
The SAGU-vs-DBU dual will be broadcast over the internet by MACU. Visit this web location for access to the match.
The best-of-five series could be a match-up of the top two teams in the tourney. The DBU Lady Patriots finished second in the Heartland Conference last week. They are members of the NCAA's Division II.
Top Seeded Colorado Christian considers DBU their main threat
The #1 seed in the field is Colorado Christian University. The school that is based in the Denver suburb of Lakewood, has a 16-15 won-lost record. They are the highest ranked team at the regional. The Lady Coogs are #13 among the 50 teams in the NCCAA.
The other teams competing include the hosts from Mid-America Christian (13-23) and Southwestern Christian University (12-21-1). Those teams open the regional at 3:00pm, with the winner advancing to face the Colorado Christian Cougars at 7:00pm.
Central Championship on Saturday at 1:00pm CST
The winners of the 5pm and 7pm matches will play in the championship at 1:00pm (Central Standard Time) on Saturday. The losers of those matches will play in the Third Place Consolation at 11am on Saturday. All matches during the tournament will be broadcast at the above link.
The most recent NCCAA rankings placed Colorado Christian at #13. Dallas Baptist comes in at #24, SAGU at #29 and MACU at #30. The Lady Patriots were called the "primary threat" to the CCU Cougars on their new website. The Lady Lions will have their chance to prove otherwise today.
NCCAA Central Regional Schedule
| DAY | TIME | MATCHUP (RECORD) |
| All games broadcast live at http://www.macuathletics.com/f/Live_Games.php | ||
| Fri | 3:00 PM | Mid-America (13-23) vs Southwestern Christian (12-21-1) |
| Fri | 5:00 PM | SAGU (18-17) vs Dallas Baptist (16-18) |
| Fri | 7:00 PM | Colorado Christian (16-15) vs MACU-SCU winner |
| Sat | 11:00 AM | Consolation Match: Losers of 5PM and 7PM play for 3rd Place |
| Sat | 1:00 PM | Central Region Championship: Winners of 5PM and 7PM meet for Title |
| The NCCAA Finals will be played in Kissimmee, FL, Dec 1-4. An 8-Team Field | ||
Leaders of the Cat Pack
Coach Moore's squad is led by tri-captains Brittani Toole (Whitehouse, Tx / Whitehouse HS), Jordan Briggs (Maypearl, Tx / Maypearl HS) and Tina Brown (Seguin, Tx / Lifegate Christian). Toole and Briggs are seniors.
Team Lioness has proven themselves capable of knocking off winning teams during the season. They defeated the University of Dallas, who were 13-1 at the time. They finished 26-11. SAGU topped Wiley College (21-9) and the University of St. Thomas (24-15), who are in the NAIA national tournament. Wiley advanced to the RRAC finals for the third straight year.
DBU and Southwestern have not met on the court the past two seasons, though they did scrimmage in August.
All-Conference Team honors six Lady Lions
Six players from SAGU were named to the All-Red River Athletic Conference team.
