COLUMBIA, Mo. -- The Madonna volleyball team suffered their second consecutive loss of the 2006 NAIA National Tournament after the College of St. Mary (NE) defeated the Crusaders 3-0 (30-22, 30-21, 30-28) on Thursday morning at the Silverthorne Center in Columbia.

Sophomore outside hitter Lubovj Tihomirova (Riga, Latvia/Rigas Gymnasia HS) led Madonna (38-4) on the offensive end of the floor with 16 kills, however, she was also credited with 11 attacking errors.

The Crusaders posted a season low hitting percentage of .117, which included a total of 25 errors.

The Flames (40-8) completed the sweep over the Crusaders by using timely defensive efforts and applying great pressure at the net to all of MU’s front row hitters. 

In the first game of the day, St. Mary picked up three straight points to stretch their lead to 17-13 after three straight attack errors by the Crusaders.  Following a timeout by Madonna, the Flames sparked a 6-0 run to stretch the advantage to 23-14.  Madonna could not cut into the lead more than eight points as St. Mary won the opening game 30-22.

St. Mary opened the second game on a 15-8 run, against forcing head coach Jerry Abraham to call a timeout.  The Flames would eventually stretch their lead to the largest of the game at nine points (22-13) before cruising to a 30-21 win.

The Crusaders finally showed some life in game three.  With St. Mary holding a 20-15 advantage, the Crusaders went on a 10-2 run to take a 25-22 lead behind the serving of junior libero Jacqui Gatt (Livonia, Mich./Churchill HS).  The Flames would call a timeout before scoring the next three points to knot the game at 25-25.  Madonna would hang with the Flames over the next few points before St. Mary's Lindsey Hill recorded her final kill of the match and clinch a berth for St. Mary in the quarterfinal round.

Hill led the all players with 18 kills on the day and recorded three total blocks.

Madonna still has a chance to advance out of pool play, but will need a win tonight against fifth-ranked Dickinson State (ND).  The Crusaders and Blue Hawks are scheduled to square off at 9:15 p.m. (ET) at the Southwell Complex.  Matt Fancett will be providing play-by-play of all of tonight's events beginning at 9:05 p.m. (ET) live from the Southwell Complex.