For the third time this year the Pirates topped nationally-ranked Colorado College, this time advancing them into the conference finals.

Defenses ruled the first set as Southwestern hit .038 and Colorado College .077. It was clear this match was going to be a dog fight with Colorado College winning set one 25-23. Southwestern reversed the count to win the second set 25-23 and built off their strong offense in the set with an impressive .256 attack percentage in the third set, winning 25-19.

Colorado refused to go away quietly, however, and won the fourth set 25-20, setting the stage for the epic finish.

Southwestern was blazing in the fifth set with a .200 attack percentage and holding the Tigers to .000, showing why they are the top defensive team in the nation.

Kaitlyn Foster led with 17 kills for Southwestern while Macey Pool added in 14 and Olivia Drummond 11. Foster also led defensively with 26 digs and Chandler Lentz chipped in 22. Kirby Kincannon dominated the net with five blocks.

With the win, Southwestern improves to 28-8 on the year and advance to the conference finals once again. SU faces Trinity in the final on Saturday with an anticipated start time of 4:30 pm. The two teams have faced each other twice already this season with Trinity winning both contests.