SIOUX CITY, Iowa ---- The No. 10 Life University women's volleyball team earned the 3-0 sweep over No. 23 Lindsey Wilson in the opening Pool Play match at the NAIA National Championships.

Going into the season, the Running Eagles had only defeated the Blue Raiders one time in the program's history, however the win tonight marked the third win this season and just the second sweep between the two Mid-South Conference Rivals.

In their first appearance at the National Tournament in Pool Play, the Running Eagles overcame a 19-11 deficit in the first set to win 25-23 on a 14-4 run. Life U never trailed the rest of the match winning the second set 25-20 and 25-16 in the third.

As a team, Life U dominated the match in every statistical category except for digs, where both teams finished with 50. The Running Eagles limited the Blue Raiders to a .135 hitting percentage with 31 kills. Life U finished the match with 46 kills and a hitting percentage of .267. They also led 11-3 in service aces, 10-4 in blocks and 45-30 in assists. 

Individually, Fayola Louis led the team offensively with 12 kills and a .435 hitting percentage. Mary Zimmerman also finished in double figures with 10 kills and a .421 hitting percentage with two block assists and a solo block. Lena Pucnik finished the match with nine kills and nine digs with a pair of service aces and four block assists. Morgan Furness tallied eight kills with a .615 hitting percentage and a match-high six block assists and a solo block. Jessie Prichard totaled 39 assists with a pair of kills, six digs and three block assists. Libero Marin Black produced six service aces and 11 digs as Brie Montgomery added a pair of assists with a pair of digs. Madison Evans finished with five kills and a team-high 13 digs with a block assist.

With the win, Life U advances to face No. 5 Providence in the final match of the pool at 2 PM EST on Wednesday, December 1. The winner will advance to the Quarterfinals on Thursday. All links for the tournament can be found here: Women's Volleyball NAIA National Tournament Information and Links

After the match, head coach Steve Wilcosky shared his thoughts on the historic win: