OKLAHOMA CITY – Oklahoma City University captured its fourth consecutive Sooner Athletic Conference volleyball tournament championship 21-25, 25-16, 29-27, 25-20 over Texas Wesleyan on Saturday at Abe Lemons Arena.
The Stars (33-1) completed a sweep of the SAC regular-season and tournament crowns for the fourth year in a row. OCU, ranked 18th among the NAIA, collected its fifth SAC Tournament title after taking its first conference tournament championship in 2010.
Oklahoma City secured its fifth appearance in the NAIA Championships after taking the league regular-season title. The NAIA will reveal its national-tournament field 10 a.m. Monday on its Facebook page. The top 20 nationally seeded teams advance to the NAIA Championships on Dec. 3-7 at the Tyson Events Center in Sioux City, Iowa. The other 24 tournament teams play for the right to reach Iowa in the NAIA Championship Opening Round on Nov. 23 on campus sites around the country.
OCU's Sophia Salak became the SAC Tournament most valuable player, while Lacy Beeler of the Stars grabbed all-tournament acclaim. OCU extended its winning streak to 32 matches in a row dating back to Aug. 16.
"I am so proud of how our girls fought this entire season, but especially in the conference tournament," OCU coach Kristen Coventon said. "We've had a big target on our back, and the teams we played were throwing everything at us. We kept our composure and finished really strong."
Texas Wesleyan (24-8) faced off with OCU for the SAC Tournament title for the third year in a row. The Lady Rams will be in the national tournament for the third consecutive year and 10th time overall. Arianna Alvarado and Madison Lopez represented Texas Wesleyan on the all-tournament team.
Kenady Bertling and Marijana Bjelobrk notched a pair of kills each to stake OCU to a 7-1 second-set advantage.
In the third set, the Stars rallied from a 23-20 hole. Beeler crushed a couple of kills, and Caitlin Briggs served up an ace as OCU had set point at 24-23. The Stars tallied the final three points of the set to erase 26-25 and 27-26 deficits. Beeler and Bjelobrk nailed kills to give OCU the set.
The Stars built a 17-12 fourth-set cushion with a 5-0 surge. Beeler smacked a pair of kills and teamed with Bertling on a block.
Texas Wesleyan overcame 12-7 and 17-14 deficits to win the first set.
"I'm proud of our two seniors and their leadership to this team," Coventon said. "We are excited for the national tournament, and we can't wait to get up there and get started."
Salak, a sophomore from McKinney, Texas, posted a career-best 51 assists to go with seven digs. Salak dished out her previous career high of 49 assists Sept. 20 at Southwestern Assemblies of God (Texas). Salak supplied the Stars with 12.45 assists, 1.82 digs, 0.36 blocks and 0.18 aces a set during the SAC Tournament.
Beeler pounded a career-high 23 kills to go with nine digs and three blocks. Beeler, a junior from Jenks, Okla., surpassed the 22 kills she recorded against Southwestern Christian on Oct. 30. Beeler averaged 4.18 kills, 3.64 digs, 0.91 blocks and 0.36 aces per set throughout the tournament.
Bjelobrk, a senior from Belgrade, Serbia, provided OCU with 10 kills, 12 digs and five blocks. Bjelobrk came up with her second double-double of the tournament and fourth double-double this year.
Isabel Harwell, a sophomore from Edmond, Okla., amassed 20 digs and two aces for her 10th 20-dig performance of the season. Briggs, a junior from Mustang, Okla., added 16 digs, and Bertling, a sophomore from Baytown, Texas, turned in eight kills and five blocks.
Ella Lofton, a junior from Cedar Park, Texas, produced eight kills and five digs, while Catelyn Vargas, a redshirt freshman from Lubbock, Texas, had six kills and five blocks for OCU.
Alvarado topped Texas Wesleyan with 14 kills, while Lopez picked up 26 digs. Brenda Pargas handed out a team-high 24 assists.
The Stars won for the 12th consecutive time in SAC Tournament play and 36th time in a row at home.
Sooner Athletic Conference Tournament
At Campus Sites
Tuesday's Results
John Brown def. Wayland Baptist, 3-0 (25-17, 25-16, 25-14)
Oklahoma City def. Panhandle State, 3-0 (25-16, 25-16, 25-22)
Southwestern Assemblies of God def. Mid-America Christian, 3-2 (25-23, 25-22, 21-25, 28-30, 15-10)
Texas Wesleyan def. Southwestern Christian, 3-0 (25-10, 25-13, 25-16)
At Oklahoma City
Abe Lemons Arena
Friday's Results
Semifinals
Oklahoma City def. Southwestern Assemblies of God, 3-1 (25-13, 23-25, 25-15, 25-15)
Texas Wesleyan def. John Brown, 3-1 (24-26, 25-17, 25-18, 25-23)
Saturday's Results
Championship
Oklahoma City def. Texas Wesleyan, 3-1 (21-25, 25-16, 29-27, 25-20)
All-Tournament
Nikki Almaguer, Southwestern Assemblies of God; Arianna Alvarado, Texas Wesleyan; Megan Beck, John Brown; Lacy Beeler, Oklahoma City; Madison Lopez, Texas Wesleyan.
Most valuable player: Sophia Salak, Oklahoma City.
