Nov. 17, 2007- The Lindenwood women’s volleyball team added to its best season in school history on Saturday by winning the NAIA Region V Tournament and an automatic bid to its first-ever NAIA National Tournament.

The 12th-ranked Lady Lions won the title with a thrilling 30-26, 19-30, 30-19, 32-34, 16-14 upset over sixth-ranked Columbia.

Lindenwood had match point in game four at 29-28, but Columbia scored two straight points to take the advantage. After a series of sideouts, the Cougars finally won the game 34-32.

In the deciding fifth game, the two regional heavyweights went back-and-forth with four lead changes in the final half of the game. Columbia had the first match point this time at 14-13, but Lindenwood scored two straight to go ahead 15-14. On the next point, Columbia had an overpass which Krista Yoder put down for the kill and the championship title.

Erika Kliokmanaite ended the match with 23 kills, Yoder had 13 and Sarah Gildehaus was in double-figures with 10. Lisa Clark returned from an injury and had 41 assists, while Monica Pfeiffer had seven service aces.

Defensively, Yoder led the team with five blocks, while Kliokmanaite had four blocks and 15 digs. Alyssa Showers led the team with 25 digs, and Pfeiffer collected 15.