OKLAHOMA CITY, OK: The Texas Wesleyan University (26-3) punched their ticket to 2017 SAC Championship match in a 3-2 (13-25, 30-18, 18-25, 25-20, 15-11) thriller over Southwestern Assemblies of God University (26-6) at Abe Lemons Arena on Friday.
 
Texas Wesleyan finally got the monkey off their back. This is the first SAC tournament championship appearance for the Rams, as the team has taken five consecutive tournament semi-final losses before tonight. The last conference tournament championship appearance was a 3-0 loss to UT-Brownsville in the 2007 RRAC final.   
 
The Lady Rams showed outstanding grit and determination in an all-out brawl with in-state rival SAGU. The Lions posted an advantage in nearly every statistical category, but the Lady Rams found a way to get a win. The Rams posted their best hitting percentage (.370) in the fifth set. Each team had four players hit double digits in digs in the match.
 
Stinnett notched a career high 27 kills, hitting .440 in the process. She added 11 digs for her 46th career double-double. The senior now has 1,417 career kills. Head coach Priscilla Morgan had praise for her senior, "As always, Shelby is the steady rock of not only our offense, but our defense and serving as well. It was special as a coach to witness her excelling at a high level and lead this team."
 
 Sasha Robinson posted her 10th double-double of the season behind 34 assists and 13 digs. Brianna Jaramillo tallied 13 kills in the win.
 
The Lions took advantage of early errors, putting the Lady Rams in hole that quickly grew to 13-point deficit. TXWES started to string some plays together at the end of the set, but SAGU took an early 1-0 match lead with a 25-13 first set.
 
Morgan described how the team was able to recover from a disappointing first set, "We had to focus on us and our game. We couldn't react negatively to the game, we had to set the tone. We focused on winning the small parts of the game and that was the difference."  
 
The second set was an instant classic. The set was tied five times before a SAGU hit a 7-1 run capped on a Mollie McBride kill to establish a 12-6 lead. The Rams took a 5-0 charge to take a 19-18 edge after two Mckenzie Black aces and a Tierra Coverson, Sasha Robinson block. The two teams went shot for shot, and the Lions held advantage at 25-24 before Stinnett kept the set alive with a kill. Brittni Mohle and Brianna Jaramillo did the same thing and tied the set for the 15th time at 28-28. Coverson and Jaramillo teamed up for a block before the Rams took a 30-28 win to even the match at 1-1.
 
The Lions grabbed an early 5-0 lead to start the third set. The Lady Rams kept the lead close, but SAGU was extremely stingy with the lead. Coverson and the Rams cut the lead to three points at 19-16, but that was the closest TXWES would get. Sopia Ivy put down an ace to make it 2-1 SAGU.
 
Texas Wesleyan denied SAGU an early lead in the fourth set, posting a 5-0 rally after Stinnett fired three consecutive kills to make it a 10-5 lead. Mohle kept the Rams cooking with gas on a strike for a six-point lead. TXWES held a 20-16 lead, before a SAGU posted a 4-1 run to cut the lead to one-point with a Kali Shaw, Madeleine Hartling block. The Lions committed two errors in the last two points, and the Lady Rams forced a fifth set.
 
The thrill ride continued, with SAGU holding an early 6-3 edge on a Jessica Sodich kill. The Lady Rams were up to the challenge rattling off a herculean 6-0 rally capped on a Coverson, Jaramillo kill, taking a 9-6 edge. The Rams had too much momentum, squashing any semblance of a Lion run. Stinnett added four more kills in the last five points for the Rams before Jaramillo put a bow on the match with a dagger-like kill for the match win.
 
The Rams will take on host Oklahoma City University in the 2017 SAC tournament final tomorrow starting at 11:00 a.m.