MARION, Ind. -- Next stop?  Columbia, Missouri.  That's where the Madonna volleyball team will be heading after sweeping Cornerstone 3-0 (30-25, 30-25, 30-21) to win their third straight NAIA Region VIII Tournament title on Saturday evening at Indiana Wesleyan University in Marion.

The seventh-ranked Crusaders (38-2) defeated Cornerstone for the fourth time this season and second time in a week.  Madonna won the WHAC Tournament Championship game over Cornerstone, 3-1, last Saturday (Nov. 11) to earn the top seed in the regional tournament.

Sophomore Lubovj Tihomirova (Riga, Latvia/Rigas Gymnasia HS) continued her dominance over the Golden Eagles with 19 kills in the championship game to lead MU.  Senior middle hitter Caryn Inman (Oxford, Mich./Oxford HS) added 18 kills for the Crusaders.

Freshman setter Inta Grinvalds (Portage, Mich./Portage Central HS) guided the Crusaders to a .371 hitting percentage with a game high 50 assists.

The Crusaders will be heading to their fifth straight NAIA National Tournament, which will be played Nov. 29-Dec. 2 at Columbia College.

Madonna advanced to the regional championship game after picking up a 3-1 win against Indiana Tech in a semifinal match earlier in the day.

Head Coach Jerry Abraham and the Crusaders will now await the seedings for the upcoming national tournament which will be released early next week.

Following the regional championship game, several Crusaders were honored by regional officials.  Inman earned regional Player of the Year honors just a week after being named conference player of the year.  Inman was joined on the all-region first team by Tihomirova and junior libero Jacqui Gatt (Livonia, Mich./Churchill HS).  Grinvalds earned another Freshman of the Year award after earning the same award from the conference last weekend.