SAN ANTONIO – Annamarie Alvarez finished off the match with a powerful right-handed spike to send the University of the Incarnate Word volleyball team into the final spot of the 2021 Southland Conference Championships for the first time in program history.
UIW swept visiting McNeese, 3-0, in the season finale inside the McDermott Center on Saturday afternoon. The win was the third in a row to close out the regular season and clinch a postseason berth.
It was all UIW to open the first set after McNeese got the first point of the match, the Cardinals went on a four-point rally capped by an Allison Palmi ace to prompt a Cowgirls' timeout. UIW and McNeese battled back-and-forth through the set until Chase Jackson's attack for a 15-10 lead sparked a 6-0 run for the red and black and the team could taste a first set victory up 21-10. The Cardinals closed out the set with a kill from Bethany Clapp to take the first set, 25-15.
Set two saw the closest McNeese came from getting on the board as the two sides played through 11 lead changes and 13 ties.
Neither team could string together a solid run to maintain momentum until the Cardinals regained the lead for the final time on back-to-back kills by Jackson to give UIW a 23-22 lead. Back-to-back service errors set up the heads-up set point for Macy Sumrall who just got a hand out to return the ball over the net and land in no man's land on the Cowgirl's side for the 25-23 win.
McNeese came back strong to start the third set with a 4-0 run before Jackson got the UIW on the board and later tied it, 4-4, on a block with Jacquelin Arrington to get back into the third set.
UIW and McNeese were again in a back-and-forth affair. The Cardinals were looking for the clean sweep and the Cowgirls in search of more life to push the match to four sets. Both sides played through four more ties before UIW took control of the match on a kill by Arrington for a 15-12 lead. The Cardinals closed out the match on a 10-5 run and take the third set, 25-17.
Palmi led the Cardinal's offense with a 41.7% attack percentage with five kills. Clapp had a team-high eight as Jackson and Arrington both had seven kills each. Sumerall was stout on defense with 13 digs.
UP NEXT
The Cardinals head to the 2021 Southland Conference Tournament set for Wednesday, March 31 at the Dugan Wellness Center in Corpus Christi, Texas. UIW takes on the No. 5 seed Houston Baptist at 6:30 p.m.
FOLLOW ALONG
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