SIOUX CITY, Iowa – The William Carey Volleyball Team saw their historic season come to an end, as they fell to Montana Western 3-0 in pool play action of the 2024 NAIA Volleyball Championship.
"It's never easy when your season ends on a loss, especially for the players that are graduating," said Head Coach
Ronda Shirley. "We may not have ended the season with a win, but this team left the volleyball program better than they found it. They have some great moments and school records to remember for a lifetime."
After dropping the first two points to open the match, Carey got a kill from
Suelen Lima followed by an ace from
Sofia Bettini to tie the set. The Bulldogs quickly retook the lead with the Lady Crusaders staying within striking distance. With both teams going back and forth, it was Montana Western that pulled away to take a 24-20 advantage.
WCU made things interesting, as
Marcella Hermont picked up a kill followed by an ace from
Barbara Guedes with Lima making it a one-point game on a kill. However, the Bulldogs shut down the rally attempt, picking up the final point for the win.
The second set started just like the first except this time the Lady Crusaders answered with three straight points with two of those coming on kills by Lima and Guedes and the third on an attack error. From there, both teams traded points but with Carey leading 9-8, Montana Western went on a 5-0 run to give themselves some breathing room. Carey attempted to reduce the deficit throughout the set but could not get any closer than three points, as MWU would go on to take the set 25-16.
Just like in the two sets before, Carey dropped the first two points but got a kill from
Elaina Anderson and a block by Anderson and Lima to even the set. Again, the Bulldogs retook the lead with Carey staying within striking distance. Just as it looked as if Montana Western was going to run away with it, pulling away to a 15-9 advantage, the Lady Crusaders rallied with five straight points to get within one point. Both teams traded points, but the Bulldogs took control of the set behind a 5-0 run to make it 22-16. Despite Carey's best effort at a comeback, MWU went on to clinch the set 25-21.
Suelen Lima led the offense with 16 kills and 11 digs.
Katarina Vulic finished with 24 assists and ten digs while
Marcella Hermont had eleven digs.
"I am beyond proud of the commitment, dedication and trust they put into this program and each other," said Shirley. "Now that we have had a taste of success in the post season our vision of future seasons has changed and expanded. The best is yet to come."
William Carey ends the season with a program record of 29-11 with the wins setting a program record.
