LUBBOCK, Texas – St. Edward's stunned the home crowd with a thrilling five set upset over #1 seed Lubbock Christian Friday evening. The Hilltoppers (18-11) advance to the conference final for the first time since 2014 and will face Arkansas-Fort Smith.

St. Edward's took the first set 25-22, proving they were ready for anything. An 8-2 run midway through the set gave SEU the cushion they needed to close out the set and go up 1-0.

A tight set quickly got out of hand as the Chaps responded with a dominating second set. LCU closed on an 11-1 run to win 25-13 and even the match 1-1.

SEU put on a show of their own in the third set, using a 7-0 run midway into the set to lead 15-8, giving the Hilltoppers enough breathing room to win 25-21.

Despite starting the set with a 5-0 lead St. Edward's cooled and Lubbock Christian refused to let their home crowd down, ending the set on a 14-3 run to win 25-14 and force a thrilling fifth set.

Lubbock Christian never led in the fifth set as SEU made the upset a reality. The Hilltoppers were first to eight points on a kill from MADDIE MIKSCH, 8-6, and never allowed LCU closer than two points to secure the win, 15-11.

MIKAYLA PARKER and KATE HENDRIX were nearly untouchable offensively, hitting .424 and .344, respectively, with Parker posting a team high 19 kills and Hendrix 12. ALEXA MCANDREW added in 13 kills while JULIA HARTLEY ran the show with 34 assists. MORGAN BECKHAM continued her defensive dominance with 22 digs with MELISSA MCNEIL chipping in 18.

The Heartland Conference Championship match is set for 1 pm on Saturday with the winner earning a bid to the NCAA Regional.