SHERMAN, Texas â€" The Texas Lutheran volleyball team clawed its way back from a 2-0 deficit to force a fifth set, but eventually fell to the University of Dallas 3-2 on Friday in the quarterfinals of the Southern Collegiate Athletic Conference Volleyball Championship.
 
The 24-26, 20-25, 25-19, 25-18, 8-15 loss dropped the Bulldogs' record to 19-13 on the year and was their third loss this season to the Crusaders. The loss doesn't end TLU's season though, as it will play Austin College at 11 a.m. tomorrow (Saturday, Nov. 8) to see which team takes home fifth place in the tournament.
 
The Bulldogs were led on Friday by sophomore All-SCAC First Team performer Kristin Fording (San Antonio, Texas). The outside hitter notched her fifth straight double-double, putting up an otherworldly line of 21 kills and 24 digs. She led the team in kills and finished second in digs. Those 21 kills were also a career high for the transfer from Incarnate Word.
 
It was the second straight time these two teams were forced to go the maximum number of sets, and the Bulldogs nearly completed an epic comeback to advance to the semifinals. The key came with their defense. In the first two sets, Dallas hit above .200. In the third and fourth sets, both sets that TLU would win, the Crusaders were held to less than .135 hitting, including a .036 fourth set.
 
The blocking game wasn't a huge factor for either team, with a combined 17 blocks coming in the match. TLU finished with eight, while Dallas finished with nine. Both teams got to many attack attempts though, digging up balls and keeping rallies going. The Bulldogs finished with 112 digs, and five different players racked up at least 10.
 
Megan Lee (Universal City, Texas), the recently announced back-to-back SCAC Backrow Player of the Year, led the way with 26 digs. Fording chipped in with her 24, while Megan Dugie (San Antonio, Texas) was next up with 18.
 
Brette Threadgill (Sinton, Texas) was the other Bulldog to reach double-digit kills, finishing with 10 on .308 hitting. Six of those 10 kills came in the two sets TLU won.
 
Once again, Katie Darst (Euless, Texas) and Kelcie Ingram (Cibolo, Texas) shared setter duties. Darst led the team with 28 kills, while Ingram tallied 25.
 
Live video and live stats of TLU's fifth-place matchup against Austin College can be found at tlubulldogs.com.