November 12, 2022

Waxahachie, TX: For the Sooner Athletic Conference (SAC) Volleyball Tournament championship, the Southwestern Assemblies of God University (SAGU) Lady Lions matched up as the No. 1 seed to face the No. 2 seed Texas Wesleyan University (TWU) Rams. The two best teams in the SAC engaged in a spectacular, intense game that featured players with All-SAC honors, the MVP and attacker of the year, co-setters of the year, and even the coaching staff of the year.

 

The Lady Lions (32-0, 20-0) beat TWU in four electric sets, 25-15, 25-18, 25-20, and 25-17, to win the final round of the Sooner Athletic Conference Volleyball Tournament. 

 

Lion Review

• Riley Burcham and Emma Tompkins would team up for a brutal assist-kill. The team was coordinated and ready to deliver in the championship game. 

• In set one, Lindi Boling was in the zone and showed laser focus on sliding digs. For the Lady Lions, the defensive specialist Boling was exceptional. 

• Karena Tipton's consecutive kills gave the Lady Lions a slight score advantage. 

• Karena Tipton would add another back-to-back scoring punch following a TWU timeout.

•  The second set would start smoothly for Alexandra Bonnett, and Riley Burcham would later add a cunning service dump. 

• Ava Myers appeared to have been dropped from an aircraft into the Sheaffer Center gym as she soared high on her kills. 

• Madi P would follow a flippant TWU swing to the sideline boundary and out of bounds. The quick observation enabled Tipton to score the game's last point with a kill in the second set. 

• The Rams would quickly take the lead in the third set, 10-6, their most significant victory margin throughout the match. 

• TWU would produce sufficient stops to keep the Lady Lions from cutting the score deficit.

• The Lady Lions would demonstrate the ability they used to capture the regular season title in the fourth and final match. The reasons Emma Tompkins was selected as the league's most valuable player would be fully displayed. 

• Karena Tipton, a middle player for SAGU, was selected for the Sooner All-Conference Tournament team as a consequence of the victory. 

• Emma Tompkins was named the Most Valuable Player of the Sooner Athletic Conference Volleyball Tournament. Tompkins led the Lady Lions with 20 kills and three blocks. 

• The Lady Lions have won the volleyball tournament in the Sooner Athletic Conference two years in a row.

More from Moore

"Winning the regular season championship and the conference championship means a great deal for our program. Hats off to the TWU team, they played hard today and this weekend secured the second Automatic Qualifying spot for our conference. I am very happy for their program. The SAC will be represented well. Congratulations to all our players on a 32-0 record as we head into the NAIA National tournament. This team has stayed together and accomplished so much. All I can say is I could not be more proud of our entire team. Praise the Lord for allowing me this opportunity to serve as the Head Coach at such a great University," SAGU Head Volleyball Coach Hank Moore said.

 

The Next Step

Next up for the SAGU, Lady Lions will prepare for the 2022 NAIA Volleyball national tournament in hopes of adding another championship to their historic season.

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As a leading Christian university, SAGU educates and prepares individuals who want to serve Christ and others. SAGU helps students discover and develop their God-given callings in a Spirit-empowered, learning community. We believe in affordable tuition, made possible in part through the financial support of donors who embrace the mission of SAGU and the importance of affordable, accredited programs to train Christians for leadership in ministry, business, education, and service. Most majors are available in-person in Waxahachie, TX, and online through a wide range of associate, bachelor's, master's, and doctoral degrees.