(Story courtesy of Texas Lutheran Sports Information Department)
CLAREMONT, Calif. -- The Texas Lutheran volleyball team fell in the opening round of the NCAA Tournament on Thursday, as University of Chicago topped the Bulldogs in a thrilling five-set match (25-14, 25-17, 22-25, 23-25, 13-15) at Roberts Pavilion on the campus of Claremont-Mudd-Scripps.
Senior Maddy Schultz led the Texas Lutheran offense with a career-high 20 kills on the afternoon. Juniors Tanyse Moehrig and Emily Mixon had nine kills each. Libero Lexi Morris had 20 digs, five assists, two service aces and a kill, while setters Shavonne Respondek and Julia Chew each finished the match with double-doubles. Respondek had 29 assists and 16 digs while Chew 17 assists and 12 digs. With the 20 digs Morris not only sets a single-season career high, but sets a new program record for digs in a season with 762 - surpassing Megan Lee's 759 digs in 2014.
Madison Weisinger and Brylie Nedd turned in quality matches, as Weisinger finished with eight kills, five blocks, and a team-high three service aces while Nedd added seven kills, 10 digs, and five blocks, matching her season-high.
The decisive fifth-set was a microcosm of the latter part of the match as Texas Lutheran struggled to put away the Maroons of UChicago. After a dominant start to the match from TLU, Chicago would out-hit the Bulldogs in each of the final three sets to fall to the Maroons.
The Bulldogs finish the season with a 27-10 overall record, matching the most in a single-season since Texas Lutheran became an NCAA institution, and appearing in the program's third NCAA Tournament.The Bulldogs - a team picked to finish fourth in the preseason poll - concluded the 2022 season with a 27-10 record, going 11-5 in the SCAC to claim fourth place in the conference in the regular season before winning their first SCAC Conference Championship in the 2022 SCAC Tournament.
After clinching the 2022 SCAC Tournament Championship, Texas Lutheran won its first SCAC Championship and third championship of the NCAA-era, joining the 2004 and 2007 American Southwest Championships. The 2022 season is the first time the Bulldogs have tallied double-digit conference wins since joining the Southern Collegiate Athletic Conference in the fall of 2013. Lexi Morris added to the Bulldogs' list of SCAC Backrow Player of the Year winners that includes Megan Lee (2013, '14), Jaci Chambers (2018), and Morris herself in the 2021 season. Morris is only the second Bulldog in program history to win back-to-back SCAC Backrow Player of the Year honors - joining Lee. Head Coach Phyllis Fowler was named SCAC Coach of the Year for the first time in her career. Texas Lutheran finished in the top 25 nationally in total blocks as a team while Lexi Morris finished second in Division-III in digs and Madison Weisinger finishes in the top ten in NCAA Division-III in total blocks and block assists.
The Bulldogs graduate seven seniors - Maddy Schultz, Paige Day, Celie Contreras, Peyton Sulak, Baylie Baccinelli, Madison Weisinger, and Lexi Morris, who finishes her career as Texas Lutheran's all-time leader in digs and digs per set. We thank them for all of their contributions to the Texas Lutheran volleyball program.
