It’s a waiting game now for the Missouri Southern volleyball Lions.

Southern (23-11, 7-6) must wait to see if they will advance to the NCAA Tournament next week. The Lions were ranked sixth this week and eight teams will advance to the South Central Regional.

The Lions struggled to find their way offensively Oct. 31 and fell in the first round of the 2006 MIAA tournament, losing at No. 15 Central Missouri three games to none. Individual game scores were 30-24, 30-19, 30-27.

After losing the first two games, Southern was down 14-9 in game three, but a kill from Cherie Baugh gave the Lions the serve. Ashley Hill then proceeded to serve out seven straight points, including three straight blocks from Ashley Wright, Tessa Woods and Sarah Hoffmeister and put the Lions on top 17-14.

Central Missouri (27-5) tied the game at 17 and again at 21 and 24 before taking the lead for good. The Jennies were led with 12 kills and 8 blocks from Jillian Orhman. Lauren Nuckolls had 13 kills while Caitlin Pankratz had 45 assists and 12 digs.

Woods had nine kills, eight digs and four blocks. Baugh and Ashley Mehrer had six kills each while Hill added 18 digs. Sarah Joles had 24 assists and 11 digs, while Megan Norman added 15 digs.

The Lions will find out Sunday night, Nov. 5, if they have advanced to the NCAA Tournament when the field will be announced on NCAAsports.com. The tournament’s regional action is scheduled for Nov. 9-12 with the Elite Eight slated for Nov. 16-19. Times and locations were not available at press time.

The Lions started the season picked to finish 6th in the MIAA Preseason Coaches Poll. The Lions won seven straight matches before losing Sept. 2 to the Missouri-St. Louis Riverwomen 3-1 in the Quincy University/McDonald’s Invitational. After that match, the Lions won seven straight matches again, than lost to the No. 8 Wasburn Lady Blues.

During the regular season, senior Tessa Woods and senior Megan Norman were recognized with conference honors. Woods was recognized twice, being named MIAA Hitter of the Week Aug. 28 and named Wilson/MIAA Player of the Week on Sept. 25. Norman was named Wilson/MIAA Specialist of the Week Sept. 4.

Going into post-season play, one moment stands out for junior Lauren Bates, red-shirt freshman Megan Kinney and sophomore Sarah Joles. They all agree that moment was when the Lions captured a home victory over one of their biggest rivals.

“One of my favorite moments of the season was beating Pitt State, mainly because all the 17 girls on our team had a strong tenacity to win,” Bates said. “The phenomenally large crowd fueled our fire and we put on a show.”