Point Lookout, MO – The Lady Cats hosted the NCCAA Central Regional Tournament and took on the Pioneers of Wayland Baptist University in their first win-or-go-home match of the event. The Pioneers and the Lady Cats had split their two matches from the regular season and the Lady Cats knew they would have to play well to move on.

The Pioneers were first to score in the set, but the Lady Cats immediately answered. A block from Bailey Chamberlain and Bri Linehan gave the Lady Cats a 2-1 lead. Bri Linehan recorded a kill, but the teams continued to exchange points. Bri Linehan recorded another kill to put the Lady Cats up, 4-3 before the Pioneers regained the lead with two straight points. The Lady Cats matched the output from WBU and evened the score before the Pioneers put together a 3-0 run. Abby Chadwell recorded a kill and followed it up with a service ace to cut the deficit to 7-8. A Brooklyn Crawford kill kept the Lady Cats within one, but the Pioneers quickly added another pair of points. Bailey Chamberlain and Bri Linehan slammed down a pair of kills and the Lady Cats trailed 10-12. Bri Linehan posted two consecutive kills in response to a pair of Pioneers points and an Abby Chadwell kill kept the Lady Cats close. Jocee Pettyjohn served an ace, Brooklyn Crawford posted another kill, and the Lady Cats stayed close, trailed by one. Christa Duffel pounded home a kill to even the score, 18-18, before the Pioneers added two points to their total. The Lady Cats answered with two of their own and followed by taking the lead 21-20, forcing a Pioneers timeout. The Pioneers scored three straight out of the huddle and the Lady Cats took a timeout down 21-23. Bri Linehan recorded a kill, and a Pioneer service error would be all the scoring for the Lady Cats and the Pioneers took set one, 23-25.

The Lady Cats scored the first three points of the second set, thanks to a Kamryn Link ace and a couple Pioneer errors. Christa Duffel posted a kill to put the Lady Cats up 4-1. A Mica Chadwell service ace was followed by a block from Brooklyn Crawford, and the Lady Cats held a 7-2 lead early on. Brooklyn Crawford recorded a kill, but the Pioneers scored two straight as the Lady Cats looked to hold onto their lead. After a long rally, Brooklyn Crawford posted another kill to give the Lady Cats some momentum and a 9-5 advantage. Christa Duffel posted a kill and the Lady Cats maintained their strong lead after a Brooklyn Crawford ace. After going up 13-6, the Lady Cats forced the Pioneers to take a timeout. The teams exchanged points, with Bri Linehan adding to the Lady Cat lead with a kill. The Pioneers crept back with three straight points, but Bri Linehan posted a kill to maintain a 16-11 lead. Bri Linehan blocked a Pioneer attack, and the Lady Cats scored again with a Pioneer error. The Pioneers called a timeout with the Lady Cats holding onto an 18-13 lead. Brooklyn Crawford smacked a kill out of the timeout, and Jocee Pettyjohn served an ace to extend the lead to 20-14. Abby Chadwell recorded a kill and the Lady Cats scored another point thanks to a Pioneer attack error. Brooklyn Crawford and Christa Duffel recorded back-to-back kills to give the Lady Cats a 24-14 lead. The Pioneers scored two, but the Lady Cats put the set away, 25-16.

A Bailey Chamberlain kill led off the third set, and she followed it up with a block to put the Lady Cats up 2-0. The Pioneers answered with three points, and Bri Linehan responded with a kill to tie the set 3-3. Another Linehan kill after a Pioneer point kept the set tied. Yet another kill from Bri Linehan put the Lady Cats up 6-5, but the Pioneers answered with a point. Kamryn Link posted a kill to tie the set 7-7 before an exchange of points and a Pioneer rally gave the visitors the lead. A Bailey Chamberlain kill put an end to the Pioneer run, but the teams exchanged points to put the score at 11-16. After a Pioneer kill, the Lady Cats trailed by six and looking to make a late-set comeback. However, they were forced to take a timeout after a Pioneer run made it 11-18. A Pioneer block out of the timeout extended their lead before the Lady Cats scored off a Bri Linehan kill, and a Jocee Pettyjohn service ace. The Lady Cats could not seem to gain momentum as the Pioneers scored three straight. Kills from both Brooklyn Crawford and Christa Duffel inched the Lady Cats to 15-23, but the Pioneers were able to counter a Lady Cat point and take the set, 16-25.

The Pioneers scored the first two points in set four, but Christa Duffel and Bri Linehan answered with a pair of kills. The Lady Cats took the lead 8-5 thanks to kills from Linehan, Duffel, and Brooklyn Crawford. The Pioneers scored three straight to even the score before a Brooklyn Crawford kill put the Lady Cats up 9-8. Christa Duffel and Bailey Chamberlain posted kills and a block to maintain a 13-11 advantage. A pair of Pioneer errors and a Brooklyn Crawford kill bumped the lead to 17-13, forcing the Pioneers to take a timeout. A Christa Duffel kill and back-to-back Bri Linehan kills built the lead to 22-18, forcing another Pioneer timeout. Bailey Chamberlain posted a kill and a block, and at set point, Abby Chadwell put down a kill to take the match to a fifth and deciding set.

The Pioneers scored two straight to begin set five, and Bri Linehan answered with a kill. Two more Pioneer points followed, but Bri Linehan recorded another kill. The Lady Cat deficit was cut to 3-4 after a Pioneer error and the Lady Cats tied it with the next point. Bri Linehan gave the Lady Cats a 5-4 lead with a kill. A setting error from the Pioneers extended the Lady Cat lead to 6-4, and an ace from Mica Chadwell added to the lead, forcing a Pioneer timeout. Linehan continued her dominance in the set with a kill out of the huddle. After a Pioneer point, the Lady Cats scored again, going up 9-5. Kamryn Link posted a kill to keep the four-point lead, and the Pioneers took a timeout. The Lady Cats scored out of the timeout, but the Pioneers answered with a kill. Christa Duffel smacked a pair of kills to extend the lead to13-8. Bailey Chamberlain recorded a kill, and with the Lady Cats up 14-9, the Pioneers scored two points to cut the Lady Cat into the Lady Cat lead. The Lady Cats scored the final point thanks to a Kamryn Link kill, winning the set 15-11 and the match 3-2.

Bri Linehan led the team with 23 kills, and Christa Duffel and Brooklyn Crawford both recorded 12. Mica Chadwell provided 21 digs, and Jocee Pettyjohn contributed 14. Kamryn Link posted 38 assists in the match.

The Lady Cats will face the winner of MACU vs Mission on Wednesday, November 20 at 6:00 p.m.