The St. Edward’s University volleyball team fell within two points in a loss to Dallas Baptist University Saturday in the Heartland Conference Tournament championship match.

To get to the championship match, the Hilltoppers defeated the University of Texas at Permian Basin 3-1 on Friday. This was the third-straight win this season against the Lady Falcons for the Hilltoppers.

Texas-Permian Basin (16-20) won the first set 25-23, but the Hilltoppers (23-11) came back and won the following three sets 25-23, 25-15 and 25-17.

St. Edward’s tallied 61 kills that night. Sophomore Courtney Trevino led the attack with 16 kills, followed by sophomore Lindy Luleff with 14. Sophomore Ashley Vander Hey contributed 11 kills and freshman Ale’tra Ware tallied eight kills despite not playing until the end of the first set. Junior Chelsea Barsamian had a match-high 48 assists and seven service aces.

Defensively, the Hilltoppers had 91 digs. Leading the team was freshman Michelle Hundt with 27 digs. Trevino followed with 19 digs and Vander Hey contributed 15. Junior Stacie Robertson tallied 14 digs.

The win led the Hilltoppers to Saturday’s game against Dallas Baptist (23-11). 

The Lady Patriots took the first set 25-16. The Hilltoppers fought back and took the next two sets 25-20 and 32-30. The Lady Patiots took the fourth set 25-16, which led to the fifth set.

Dallas Baptist took a 9-4 lead midway through the fifth set. The Hilltoppers were down 12-7 before coming back to tie the score at 13-13. The Lady Patriots scored two-straight points to win the set on a kill by Heartland Conference Tournament Most Valuable Player Kaylyn Frink.

The Hilltoppers’ attack managed to total 63 kills. Leading the way was Vander Hey with 20 kills and Trevino with 15. Barsamian had 53 assists and eight digs.

Defensively, the Hilltoppers dug the ball 101 times. Hundt acculmulated 36 digs, followed by Vander Hey with 17 digs, Trevino with 15 and Robertson with 11. Barsamian tied Lady Patriots setter May Allen with a match-high 53 assists.

Vander Hey, Trevino and Barsamian  were named to the 2009 All-Conference Tournament Team.

Earning spots in the 2009 All-Heartland Conference Volleyball Team were Vander Hey, Trevino, Hundt, and junior Pam Osborn.

For the individual awards, Hundt was named Freshman of the Year, and Head Coach Sean Donahue was named Coach of the Year in the Heartland Conference.