PHOTO | COURTESY OF JEREMY ENLOW - JUMP FOR JOY: The Lady Buffs jump with excitement with their championship banner.

The No. 6 WTAMU Lady Buff volleyball team claimed its fourth-straight Lone Star Conference title after defeating Abilene Christian, 3-1, on November 7. The win automatically qualifies the Lady Buffs for the NCAA Regional tournament.

“Advancing to regionals is simply awesome,” Senior right side hitter Laura Prinsen said. “We’ve worked really hard to get this far and hopefully we can make it to the Elite 8 and maybe even win it all.”

The win lifts the Lady Buffs’ overall record to 34-3 and an unblemished 13-0 conference record. WT prevailed over ACU by scores of 27-29, 25-13, 25-15 and 25-19. ACU finished the season with a 29-6 overall record and 12-1 in the LSC.

ACU came out fighting in the first set as they outhit WT with 19 kills and nine tied scores. WT battled back to claim the next three sets. WT completed the night with a hitting percentage of .223 compared to ACU’s .132.

“Learning to win has been the biggest change for me since getting to WT,” Prinsen said. “Our spring seasons have been focused on finding ways to win and not just settling.”

PHOTO | COURTESY OF JEREMY ENLOW - SAVE IT: Laura Prinsen gets in the receiving position to pass the ball to her setter. Prinsen’s efforts named her as the Lone Star Conference tournament MVP.

Three Wildcats were honored with all-tournament honors. Outside hitter Jennie Hutt, setter Ijeoma Moronu and middle blocker Shawna Hines were named as honorees. Hutt led the way for ACU in kills with 14. Moronu tallied 43 assists and Hines added four blocks and eight kills.

Three Lady Buff seniors were honored with awards as well. Right side hitter Laura Prinsen was named the tournament MVP and led all hitters with 22 kills, 26 digs, five block assists and one solo block. Setter Katie Rickwartz and middle blocker Melissa Harper were named to the all-tournament team. Rickwartz led the team with 53 assists and added 14 digs. Harper notched 14 kills and two block assists. As for the regional placing, WT was chosen as the third seed and will face Truman State in the first round Nov. 19 at 12 p.m. at Central Missouri.

The winner of that match will proceed to face the winner of Washburn and Nebraska-Omaha, Nov. 20 at 6 p.m.