DALLAS, Texas – The Dallas Christian College volleyball team captured the 2021 NCCAA Division II Southwest Regional Championship on Friday night by defeating crosstown rival Arlington Baptist University in a five-set thriller that should be etched in the memories of many for a long time.
 
Hosting the regional tournament this year, DCC was able to win all three rounds and repeat as Regional winners for the first time in program history. The fifth ranked and third seed Crusaders had swept fourth ranked and second seed Randall University prior to having to come back in less than an hour for the title game. It was a day of the upsets, as second ranked and one seed Manhattan Christian College had fallen to seventh ranked and fourth seed Arlington Baptist to begin the second day of the regional.
 
In 2020, only four teams had competed in the regional, which were the same group that had qualified for this year's semifinals. Manhattan had the top seed and was edged by Arlington Baptist, and DCC scraped by Randall in a five-set thriller in its semifinals match. The Championship was at Arlington and the Crusaders had limited stress winning the banner in four sets that year.
 
With the stage set again this time at DCC, one hoped that history would repeat itself. Despite a better seeding, the visiting Patriots had already presented a challenge in two regular season matches. The Crusaders lost at ABU in the first meeting in four sets, and then the last outing at DCC on October 5 they won in five sets. The Crusaders held a 2-0 lead in sets but would end up winning in extra points on the final set 21-19 to stave off ABU's comeback. This battle had the feeling it was going to be back-and-forth until the last play and it was.
 
Three of the five sets in the Championship Match were determined by two points and two needed more than 25 points to determine a winner. For five seniors: Caitlyn Yablon, Elizabeth Morrow, Lauren Baker, Cameron Del Angel, and Keeley Price, this was about ending at home on a positive note.
 
"This win felt so much sweeter this year," Morrow stated. "Home field plus our last year on the court together here." She went on to say, "This year the competition was really tough. Everybody wanted it. We had to fight for it."
 
In the first set both teams had equal amounts of kills with 16 apiece and total attempts with 31. Despite DCC committing two fewer errors with three, it was Arlington Baptist that got the early lead with a 26-24 final. The Crusaders erased a 5-2 deficit with the next six points for the game's first long run of the day. A Morrow kill later made it 14-13, but the Patriots put together their longest streak at the time with five in a row to go up 18-14. A few moments later down three, a bad ABU set and then kill by Morrow would make it 21-20. The Crusaders would tie the score at 22, 23, and 24. The Patriots scored the final two points to secure the set.
 
The Crusaders would make the first big move in the second set with seven points in a row that included Yablon on serve six times lifted the home squad up 12-6. ABU chipped away and then when down three points (16-13) would surge on a seven-point streak of its own to go up by four late in the set (20-16). Trailing 23-18 and facing a possible 2-0 hole, ABU made a hitting error that put Yablon back on the serve. The senior out of Garland, Texas, orchestrated another seven-point streak that had ABU unable to answer and even the series of sets. Within that run were three kills, two by Christen Downey and another by Morrow. Kelly Graves was the setter for all of those successful hits, which she had just been whistled on a ball handling error for the last ABU point. Yablon served an ace for the tying point at 23, and Downey and Maya Harrington had a huge defensive stop with a block assist that led to set-point for DCC.
 
When asked what Yablon was thinking down late and having control of the serve she said jokingly, "Do not mess up." She added, "I wanted to serve aggressive, but careful enough to know I would not miss." There were several amazing digs that the libero got to in that span to help get the team back in that set.
 
That set was crucial, as the Patriots would pull away in the third set to win 25-18, despite DCC having 13 kills.
 
This fourth set was remarkable on both sides. The Patriots totaled 21 kills, which was the most in a set for the game. DCC matched its highest for the game with 16. The team knew it would need a win to stay alive and made sure to get out to an early lead, which happened at 6-2. DCC led by as many as three, but a 4-0 run gave the Patriots a 14-12 advantage. Morrow ended the small streak with a kill, and Autumn Allmon had one of her three solo blocks to tie things. After each side traded leads, the Crusaders rattled three points in a row to go up 23-21. Baker had a kill and Raezellejace Leano was on the serve. The freshman's ace put DCC two points away from going to the fifth set.

Arlington Baptist was ready to spoil that chance with a kill by Madison Williamson and then a block by Abby Wilson. Williamson had gone on serve and got an ace to put the guests up 24-23. Head Coach Tyese Little called her final timeout. Starting setter Hannah Gallegos and Christen Downey teamed up as they so often do and the sophomore middle blocker put down the tying kill to make it 24-all. Price had a kill to put DCC up 25-24. Arlington Baptist was forced to use its last timeout, so both sides were out now and it was on the players to determine who would win by two points first. The Crusaders had the chance to win at 27-26, but then two more points put ABU up 28-27. Facing elimination, Baker and Downey, who have been the top two hitters on the season, each delivered a kill again to make it 29-28. Two more points that had a block assist by Wilson and Peniah Waites put ABU in position to win for a third time. Maya Harrington was the next hero as her kill kept the Crusaders alive. DCC went up 31-30, but Wilson got the Patriots to 31. Downey made the go-ahead kill and two subs entered, Leano and Morrow, which would leave their names on the last play. Leano served and Morrow had the kill that would end an amazing set that had the entire gym on its feet during the final plays down the stretch.
 
"We fought to the very end with our hearts," Price responded afterwards about that set. The senior had said in the huddle to her teammates, "I didn't want to leave sad and to keep playing."
 
Her teammate Del Angel commented on how the team worked together.
 
"We all wanted it so bad and wanted anyone to do it," Del Angel reflected when talking about getting the winning point. "And we knew everyone was capable of doing it. The competition was just so tight. Somebody had to just take care of the ball, keep it alive and be smart while doing it."
 
The Crusaders started the final set with kills by Downey and Price. Arlington Baptist never led in the last set, but did tie twice at 3 and 4. Up 9-8, DCC got kills by Downey with an ABU ball handling error sandwiched between to give the Crusaders a 12-8 advantage. The Patriots clawed to within two points twice, but a service error made it 14-11. The winning point was started with Graves on the serve and Morrow would have the last swing of her home career be monumental as she was mobbed by her teammates after the kill.
 
"The mind is the most powerful muscle and it can change anything," Morrow explained. "If you just have hope in your mind and just know you can do it, you can achieve anything."
 
It was a season-high for Morrow with 18 kills, which surpassed her previous high from a few hours ago of 15 in the Randall victory. Morrow also had that many kills in the 2020 Regional, though that came in the semifinals, while the championship game was 17 that year.
 
"I just know that my team needed me and I wanted to show them how much I want to win not only for myself but for them as well," Morrow said. "This is our last home game and last time we are going to play in this gym and I wanted to show everyone how much I love them and how much I want to win for all of them."
 
Morrow was second on the team in kills, but did hit a game-best .361 percent. Downey was the leader on the team in kills with a personal-best 19 and had three blocks, which she has achieved at least that number seven times on the campaign. She had some help in the front row as Allmon started for the first time in the semifinals and championship matches, and was a key factor with a team-high four blocks against Arlington Baptist. She had seven blocks total over the combined matches on Friday. Baker rounded out the trio for double figures in kills with 10. Maya Harrington contributed eight kills and Price had four kills that were critical in keeping DCC's title run going.
 
Gallegos and Graves were solid setting 28 and 25 assists, respectively. Gallegos claimed a double-double with a season-high 13 digs to go with her assists total. Yablon led with 17 digs, while Olivia Withers was second with 14 digs and Gallegos rounded out the top trio in that column. Nine Crusaders had at least five digs to contribute to DCC's 90 total. Yablon's four aces matched a season-high for the third time and was the second time in the regional tournament, as the All-Region First Team selection tallied that mark on Thursday against Barclay College.
 
Arlington Baptist was led by Jayde Sickels with a game-high 20 kills. Sara Schmelzer and Wilson combined for 32 kills with 16 apiece by the middle hitters. The guests hustled for 101 digs led by Aubrey Grantham, and Williamson matched a game-high four aces and led the team to nine overall.  

In the semifinals, DCC was able to defeat Randall 25-20, 25-19, and 25-13, with big runs in each set to help the Crusaders be in control. The first set was the closest, but the Crusaders scored four points to open a 13-8 edge. The five-point lead was the largest until it became six at 23-17 on a kill by Morrow, who had a team-high in this game with 15. Randall came within four a couple of times, but could not mount any lengthy scoring streaks.
 
The Crusaders would be able to utilize long stretches of scoring, as they did that with five straight early in the second set and then six more points down the road to open a 17-6 edge. Randall worked its way back, but was down 2-0 in the sets after a six-point loss. The third set had DCC go on a 6-0 run to make it 9-4. That was the longest run, but DCC would have a 5-straight points to create a double-digit lead at 18-8 and end the span at 20-8. The margin never slipped under 10 points the rest of the way and the Crusaders were back in the championship match a second time.
 
Baker followed Morrow with 12 kills, while Downey had six. Gallegos posted 19 assists and Graves added 13. Withers notched 10 digs to give her double-digits in that category for both Friday games. DCC's offense powered 40 kills with 17 in the third set the most in a single frame of all the sets in the regional.
 
Dallas Christian knew how important winning the regional would be to getting back to what it got to experience a year ago.
 
"That game being so close at nationals a year ago and we knew we could get there again," Baker said on being a point away from completing a 2-0 rally at the National Championship at Bob Jones University in 2020. "We want that sweet feeling of winning the entire thing and knew this automatic bid was the only way we would get back to the national tournament, one hundred percent guarantee. That made us want this regional win so much more."
 
The teamwork and bond these student-athletes share is invaluable, too. A roster that had contributions from returners last year and several big plays from the freshmen made this possible.
 
"They performed so well," Baker complimented on the newcomers: Allmon, Withers, Leano, and Madelyn Guerrero. "You can tell a few of them felt it in moments, but having the seniors around them made them perform."  
 
"Everybody had each other's backs. I think we all felt the pressure, especially the freshmen because this is unlike anything you could prepare for in high school or club," Yablon admitted. "In stressful moments we did a good job of coming together as a team and making sure they [freshmen] knew we had their backs."
 
"We really came together as a team," Morrow concluded. "This is the best we have ever played together."
 
Dallas Christian will look to play together a few weeks longer as the team heads to the ACCA Tournament starting Wednesday, November 10-12, at Joplin, Missouri. The Crusaders also clinched a spot back to the NCCAA Tournament hosted in Kissimmee, Florida, on November 17-20. Keep up on dccsports.com for the latest news on what seeding the Crusaders will have and how to follow along in the postseason.  
 
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