MOON Township, Pa- The No. 5 West Texas A&M Lady Buffs became the National Runner-up for the 2023 season after falling in four to eventual champion Cal State LA at the NCAA Division II National Tournament. 

The Match
#5 West Texas A&M 1, Cal State LA  3 (23-25, 16-25, 25-22, 14-25) 

The Records

• West Texas A&M 33-4 (14-2 LSC)
• Cal State LA (24-10, 15-3 CCAA)

HOW IT HAPPENED
 The Lady Buffs had the heart to fight in the first but fell behind early on playing catch-up at 1-8. After a timeout and the grit the Lady Buffs are known to show they went on a run of points. WT climbed back within two points but it wasn't enough to secure a lead with the Golden Eagles taking the set. 
 
The second set was hot for Cal State as they took a strong lead and held onto it. The third set the Lady Buffs started with the lead at 6-3 and kept the momentum until the end of the set. The fourth set was taken away early by the Golden Eagles as they finished ten points ahead. 
 
The Lady Buffs came into the match looking for their fifth national title while the Golden Eagles gain their first ever national title in volleyball and in any women's team sport at Cal State LA since their inception in 1982. 
 
NCAA DII ALL-TOURNAMENT
Torrey Miller, West Texas A&M 
Carly Evetts, West Texas A&M 
Taytum Stow, West Texas A&M
Emma Becker, West Texas A&M
Caitlin Bishop, UMSL
Lexie Rang, UMSL
Nathaly Perez, Tampa
JJ Ramirez, Tampa
Eliza Cannon, Cal State LA
Lane Henke, Cal State LA
Haley Roundtree, Cal State LA
Emily Elliott, Cal State LA -Outstanding Player

BY THE NUMBERS
Emma Becker had 11 kills on 26 attempts with only two errors to hit .346. Ainsley Malis led with 18 assists while Bryli Contreras led with 19 digs. Taytum Stow led with five blocks. 

MILESTONES

• WT moves to an overall 63-23 record in the NCAA post-season 
• Kendra Potts moves to 14-3 in the NCAA tournament with an overall 124-24 record for a winning percentage of 84%
• This was the first loss to Cal State LA, WT still leads the series 2-1
• Bryli Contreras dug her 1,000^th career dig in this match 
• Emma Becker led the offense in kills for the 12^th time this season
• This is the second National Runner-up achievement for WT, with the last coming in 2009
• Lady Buffs finished the season with 33 wins, making this the second season in a row with 30+ wins under head coach Kendra Potts