LUBBOCK, Texas - The very successful 2002 Lady Ram volleyball season likely came to a close today at the NAIA Region VI tournament in Lubbock. After an early-afternoon victory over conference rival UT-Permian Basin, the Lady Rams fell to #12 Lubbock Christian in the semi-finals of the single-elimination event.

“We played really well tonight,” said head coach Rick Johansen moments after the loss. “[Lubbock Christian] is just a tough team to beat, especially in their gym, and we still took them down to the wire in that last game.”

Despite the tournament-ending loss, though, the season might still go on.

The Lady Rams still hold out slim hope for an at-large bid to the NAIA national tournament in San Diego next weekend. It would be Wesleyan’s seventh appearance at nationals since 1982, but even Johansen admits that with a maximum of just three at-large bids available, the odds aren’t in Wesleyan’s favor this time.

“We probably needed to win that third game against Lubbock Christian to have any real chance,” he explained. “Taking a nationally-ranked team to a fourth or fifth game shows you can compete at that level.”

Wesleyan did win one game in a loss to RRAC rival Houston Baptist - ranked fifth in the nation - earlier in the season. That will certainly be noticed by the tournament selection committee, as it was one of only nine games lost by the Lady Huskies during their 40-2 season. It remains to be seen just how far that one game will go towards a trip to San Diego.

“Even if we don’t get in, we’ve still had a great season,” said Johansen. “This was the first 20-win season at Wesleyan in six years, and it was a great learning experience for us. Aside from Leighann [Krey], we’ll bring everyone back next year and try to go one step further.”

Like California.

Region VI Championship Tournament Results
Quarterfinals:
#4 John Brown d. #5 Southern Nazarene (scores unavailable)
#3 Texas Wesleyan d. #6 UT-Permian Basin, 3-0. (31-29, 30-19, 30-23)
Semifinals:
#2 Lubbock Christian d. #3 Texas Wesleyan, 3-0. (30-24, 30-16, 30-26)
#1 Houston Baptist d. #4 John Brown (scores unavailable)
Finals:
#1 Houston Baptist vs. #2 Lubbock Christian, 1:00 pm Saturday