Cowgirls Advance To ASC Championship Game

Nov. 2, 2007

Final Stats

RICHARDSON, Texas - Hardin-Simmons' volleyball team advanced to its third straight American Southwest Conference final with a three-game 30-28, 30-18, 33-31 win over crosstown rival McMurry, Friday evening at the UTD Activity Center in Richardson.

The Cowgirls got off to a slow start, trailing 9-1 in the first game and trailed 27-22 late, before winning eight of the last nine points of the game to win 30-28. HSU never led until it was 29-28.

It was Hardin-Simmons who got off to the strong start in the second game, leading 8-1 and eventually 21-9, before winning 30-18.

The third game resulted in another Cowgirl rally from what looked like defeat. Neither team led by more than three points when the Cowgirls scored to make it 23-19, but McMurry rallied and scored eight straight points to lead 26-23 and stretched it to 29-25 and HSU rallied with four straight points to tie it at 29. Sam Lucien served out the match with an ace.

Kaela Parnell was again the Cowgirls main offensive weapon. She had 14 kills and seven blocks in the match. Senior Chelsea Buetow had nine kills. Lucien had 15 digs and Amanda Mace added 13.

HSU hit .160 as a team and limited McMurry to a .037 team hitting percentage. Danielle Kelton and Terah Brown had nine kills each for McMurry.

McMurry (19-10) was an upset winner of East Texas Baptist in the early match of the day. HSU (22-8) will play the winner of UT-Dallas and Texas Lutheran in the final at 2 p.m. Saturday.

HSU will be looking for its second straight ASC title. It defeated UTD last year in four games.