GREENVILLE, Ill. - The women's volleyball team is going back to the NCAA tournament for the first time since 2018 and sixth time overall. The Panthers secured their berth in the NCAA championships with a 25-14, 25-13, 29-27 victory over Westminster on Saturday night in the finals of the SLIAC tournament.

Led by SLIAC tournament MVP Jasmin Smith, the Panthers raced through the first two sets before the Blue Jays pushed the match to the brink of a fourth set.

The Panthers led throughout the final set and had a championship point at 24-23, but Westminster received back-to-back kills to reach a set point of their own.

A kill by Smith made the score 25-all, and Westminster took the next point after a block for a 26-25 lead and another set point.

Facing the Blue Jays' second set point, a kill by Lauren Spivey evened things again at 26-all, but Westminster responded immediately with a kill that gave them a third try at forcing a fourth set.

However, Greenville fought back with another kill by Spivey, a block by Mia Bonacorsi and Spivey, and a service ace by Smith to end the match.

Greenville's representatives on the all-tournament team included Spivey, Finch, and MVP Smith.

Smith ended the championship match with 16 kills, and Finch provided 12 kills.

Kaitlin Murray and Jordan Lempa, Greenville's two all-conference setters, each had 18 assists.

SLIAC defensive player of the year Chasity Hill led Greenville with 19 digs.

The title matchup between Greenville and Westminster was the second of the calendar year. The teams met up for the tournament title last April as well, also a three-set win for GU.

The Panthers (24-6) will await the announcement of their NCAA tournament destination that will come during the NCAA selection show on Monday at 11:30 a.m.