OT: 18th LSC Tournament Title

[Great White Buffalo]

The No. 6 Lady Buffs of West Texas A&M swept their way to the program's 18^th Lone Star Conference Tournament title after defeating No. 5 seed Texas A&M Kingsville on Saturday afternoon. Bryli Contreras, Carly Evetts and Torrey Miller were named to the All-Tournament team while Miller was tabbed the Tournament MVP for the third year in a row (2023, '22, '21) and earned All-Tournament citation in each of her four seasons.

With its LSC Tournament title, defending Division II national champion West Texas A&M is the LSC's automatic qualifier to the NCAA Division II Volleyball Championship. The Division II tournament bracket will be announced online Monday (Nov. 20) at 6:30 p.m. CT at NCAA.com. Regional play begins November 30 with the winner from the regional tournament set to advance to the NCAA DII Elite Eight in Moontownship, Pa. on Dec. 7-9.

The Match
#6 West Texas A&M 3, Texas A&M Kingsville 0 (25-16, 25-16, 25-10)

The Records

• West Texas A&M 28-3 (14-2 LSC)
• Texas A&M Kingsville 21-10 (11-5 LSC)

The Numbers
WT hit .287 in the championship match with 40 kills on 94 attempts with 13 errors to go along with 49 digs, 34 assists, seven blocks and four service aces while TAMUK had 25 kills on 108 swings with 16 errors to hit .083 with 34 digs, 24 assists and two blocks.

Torrey Miller, the Tournament MVP, and Carly Evetts, all-tournament team, led the Lady Buffs with 9 kills apiece. Miller had 21 attempts with two errors to hit .333 while the senior middle blocker, Evetts, had 14 attempts with no errors to hit .643. Ainsley Malis paced the offense with 16 assists while Emma Patterson had a match-high two aces. Bryli Contreras registered 11 digs to lead the back row while Patterson and Miller each contributed 10 digs apiece. Three Lady Buffs had three blocks each, Miller, Evetts and Taytum Stow.

The Milestones

• The Lady Buffs are 18-1 overall during the championship final, leads the LSC with 18 conference tournament titles
• WT moves to 56-11 overall during the LSC Tournament for an incredible winning percentage of 83.5%, highest in league history
• Head coach Kendra Potts moves to 11-2 (.846) overall during the LSC Tournament
• Torrey Miller produced back-to-back double-doubles in the quarterfinals and semifinals and was one kill shy of having another double-double in the finals (9 kills, 10 digs)

All-Tournament Team
Torrey Miller, West Texas A&M (MVP)
Bryli Contreras, West Texas A&M
Carly Evetts, West Texas A&M
Ayanna Jackson, MB, Texas A&M-Kingsville
Allison Stachowiak, OH, Texas A&M-Kingsville
Madelyn Wallace, MB, Texas A&M-Kingsville
Hannah Kinnison, OH, Angelo State
Hannah Spencer, MB, Angelo State
Shaylee Short, MB, Dallas Baptist
Karly Wells, OH, Dallas Baptist
Sophie Connor, OH/RS, UT Tyler
Chloe Price, S, UAFS
Grace Reynolds, S, Texas Woman's
Hannah Thompson, OPP/MB, Texas A&M International

[ASUPops]

The No. 6 Lady Buffs of West Texas A&M swept their way to the program's 18^th Lone Star Conference Tournament title after defeating No. 5 seed Texas A&M Kingsville on Saturday afternoon. Bryli Contreras, Carly Evetts and Torrey Miller were named to the All-Tournament team while Miller was tabbed the Tournament MVP for the third year in a row (2023, '22, '21) and earned All-Tournament citation in each of her four seasons.

With its LSC Tournament title, defending Division II national champion West Texas A&M is the LSC's automatic qualifier to the NCAA Division II Volleyball Championship. The Division II tournament bracket will be announced online Monday (Nov. 20) at 6:30 p.m. CT at NCAA.com. Regional play begins November 30 with the winner from the regional tournament set to advance to the NCAA DII Elite Eight in Moontownship, Pa. on Dec. 7-9.

The Match
#6 West Texas A&M 3, Texas A&M Kingsville 0 (25-16, 25-16, 25-10)

The Records

• West Texas A&M 28-3 (14-2 LSC)
• Texas A&M Kingsville 21-10 (11-5 LSC)

The Numbers
WT hit .287 in the championship match with 40 kills on 94 attempts with 13 errors to go along with 49 digs, 34 assists, seven blocks and four service aces while TAMUK had 25 kills on 108 swings with 16 errors to hit .083 with 34 digs, 24 assists and two blocks.

Torrey Miller, the Tournament MVP, and Carly Evetts, all-tournament team, led the Lady Buffs with 9 kills apiece. Miller had 21 attempts with two errors to hit .333 while the senior middle blocker, Evetts, had 14 attempts with no errors to hit .643. Ainsley Malis paced the offense with 16 assists while Emma Patterson had a match-high two aces. Bryli Contreras registered 11 digs to lead the back row while Patterson and Miller each contributed 10 digs apiece. Three Lady Buffs had three blocks each, Miller, Evetts and Taytum Stow.

The Milestones

• The Lady Buffs are 18-1 overall during the championship final, leads the LSC with 18 conference tournament titles
• WT moves to 56-11 overall during the LSC Tournament for an incredible winning percentage of 83.5%, highest in league history
• Head coach Kendra Potts moves to 11-2 (.846) overall during the LSC Tournament
• Torrey Miller produced back-to-back double-doubles in the quarterfinals and semifinals and was one kill shy of having another double-double in the finals (9 kills, 10 digs)

All-Tournament Team
Torrey Miller, West Texas A&M (MVP)
Bryli Contreras, West Texas A&M
Carly Evetts, West Texas A&M
Ayanna Jackson, MB, Texas A&M-Kingsville
Allison Stachowiak, OH, Texas A&M-Kingsville
Madelyn Wallace, MB, Texas A&M-Kingsville
Hannah Kinnison, OH, Angelo State
Hannah Spencer, MB, Angelo State
Shaylee Short, MB, Dallas Baptist
Karly Wells, OH, Dallas Baptist
Sophie Connor, OH/RS, UT Tyler
Chloe Price, S, UAFS
Grace Reynolds, S, Texas Woman's
Hannah Thompson, OPP/MB, Texas A&M International

I had to go on a "Where's Waldo" hunt to figure out what d@mn sport you were talking about!!!!

Not obvious to NON-VB fans. 🙄

[Goods]

Bracket came out last night. CWU volleyball is ranked 7th in the west. We're not at the level of WT in terms of volleyball, but we came into this season with very high expectations. Fell short IMO, but we're here in the national playoffs so anything can happen. There are some dominant programs in D2. Very cool to watch the bracket unfold.

[Great White Buffalo]

Wt's bracket is solid. I can see any of the top four teams winning the region. Wt has a home-court advantage with "The Box"

With the opening of the First United Bank Center in 2002, the WTAMU Fieldhouse was renovated to become one of a select few "volleyball-only" arenas in NCAA Division II. Seating just over 2,500, "The Box" provides fans an opportunity to virtually sit on the court and cheer on the perennial championship-contending Lady Buff volleyball team.

The West Texas A&M University volleyball team is accustomed to excellence in the WTAMU Fieldhouse, better known in the Texas Panhandle as "The Box." The Box is a facility Buffalo athletes and fans love. In stark contrast, opponents fear stepping into the home of the Lady Buffs. Built in 1951, The Box is home to the WTAMU volleyball team and formerly the men's and women's basketball teams. It has been the scene of many exciting moments and has seen a role in winning streaks for all three athletic programs. Success stems partially from the fans who crowd The Box and fill it to its 2,557-seat capacity.

Until a hard-fought, five-game loss to Angelo State University on Nov. 6, 1993, the WTAMU volleyball team had a 49-match winning streak in the Box dating back to Sept. 23, 1989. Counting four contests at the Amarillo Civic Center and two at the Tascosa Activity Center, WTAMU had won a then-record NCAA Division II record of 55 home matches in a row, which now ranks fourth-best in all collegiate volleyball levels. That streak was later bested by a 57-match winning streak, occurring from 1996 to 1999. WTAMU had a 40-match home streak snapped in 2003.

"The Box is a great place to play," former WTAMU assistant coach and player Carrie Burke Slechta said, who participated in each contest of the 55-match winning streak. "The Box has a certain aura about it that pushes us to another level at home. Brad Stark (WTAMU's public address announcer) gets us going with his pre-game introductions and our crowd support keeps us going throughout the match."