HOBBS, N.M. – The Louisiana Christian University volleyball team swept the Southwest Mustangs 3-0 on Friday night, then earned a 3-2 victory Saturday to complete a two-match conference series at the Jack & Mabel Maddox Student Life Center, extended LCU's winning streak to a program record-tying five matches while also getting a record-tying ninth conference win on the year.
In Game 1, Louisiana Christian (10-19, 9-11 RRAC) overcame an eight-point opening-set deficit en route to a 25-21, 25-18, 25-18 sweep. Trailing 10-2 and later 11-3, the Wildcats rallied behind
Holly Rowe and
Mallory Wills, who combined for blocks that tied the score at 14-14 and capped a six-point run for an 18-14 lead. After Southwest (4-16, 4-16 RRAC) pulled even at 20-20,
Alanah Dugar delivered the go-ahead kill as LCU won five of the final six rallies.
The Wildcats built leads of 16-8 and 22-13 in the second set before
Joie Goodwin finished it with a kill assisted by
Kylie Elmore. LCU's 11-5 third-set advantage narrowed to 12-11, but Wills and
Kourtlyn Smith combined for a block before
Yadneli Molina served an ace to restore a three-point cushion. A subsequent five-point run pushed the lead to 20-13, and Rowe's kill completed the sweep.
Dugar led the opening win with 11 kills and 15 digs, while Elmore distributed 28 assists.
Vivien Brouillette contributed six kills on nine attacks for a .556 hitting percentage and added five blocks. Smith supplied seven kills, and Molina and
Shanoa Mitch collected 11 digs apiece. LCU hit .186 and totaled nine blocks, holding Southwest to a minus-.024 hitting percentage and 32 attack errors.
Game 2 required five sets, with LCU prevailing 25-11, 23-25, 25-13, 26-28, 15-11. The Wildcats opened with a 10-1 lead, then erased a 17-13 second-set deficit with six straight points before losing the final three rallies after leading 23-22. LCU responded by hitting .261 in the third set to regain the match lead. In the fourth, the Wildcats led 11-5, fell behind 15-13 and answered with eight consecutive points for a 21-15 advantage, but could not close out the match.
The deciding set brought another comeback. LCU trailed 6-1 and 8-4 before Rowe's kill started a six-point run that included consecutive Wills aces and a tying kill by Dugar. The Wildcats moved ahead 10-8, then regrouped after Southwest tied it at 11-11. A Mustang attack error gave LCU the lead before Smith delivered three consecutive kills to secure the victory. Elmore assisted the first and last of those kills, with Brouillette setting up the middle one.
Smith finished Saturday with 12 kills, while Rowe added 11 kills and 10 digs. Molina anchored the back row with 29 digs, and Elmore recorded 34 assists. Wills supplied seven solo blocks, four aces and 12 digs, while Mitch added four aces and 14 digs. Goodwin contributed four kills without an error on five attacks. Despite hitting .067, the Wildcats totaled 13 aces, 11 blocks and 94 digs while limiting Southwest to a minus-.074 hitting percentage.
The Wildcats now head to Texarkana, Texas for the 2026 Red River Athletic Conference Championship Tournament, entering it as the four-seed. LCU will open the RRAC Tournament at 10:30 a.m. on Friday against the fifth-seeded USW Mustangs with the winner advancing to the semifinals later that evening against the host and regular season champion, Texas A&M Texarkana Eagles (19-9, 18-2 RRAC). All matches in the 2026 RRAC Championship Tournament will be played in the Patterson Student Life Center on the Texas A&M Texarkana campus and will be live streamed on the RRAC Sports Network by Urban Edge Network.
