The Lady Cardinals have this Region XIV Volleyball Tournament thing down pretty good.

For a second straight year, fifth-year coach Aleah Hayes' squad completed a 3-0 march through the event and have won all six in 3-0 fashion. As a result, the Lady Cardinals earned a trip the 2023 NJCAA Division I Volleyball Championship Tournament Nov. 15-18 in Hutchinson, Kan.

The seventh-ranked Lady Cardinals, now 30-5 and winners of 12 straight, punched their ticket to the national tournament with a 3-0 decision against fifth-ranked Navarro in the championship game Sunday afternoon at Lee College in Baytown.

The match essentially was decided in the first set – a marathon first set that last 33 minutes. The Lady Cardinals won 31-29 and had a full head of steam for the rest of the match. They prevailed 25-17 in the second set and rallied from a 20-16 deficit in the third to pull out a 25-23 win and keep the stranglehold they now have on the tournament.

In the thrilling first set, the Lady Cardinals trailed 23-19 and appeared in trouble. With no panic button in sight, they rallied to tie the score at 23-23 and the two heavyweight teams traded punches until the Lady Cardinals finally got the knockout after a final tie at 29-29.

The late-set rally was nothing new for the Lady Cardinals. In Saturday's semifinal against No. 11 Blinn, they trailed 21-17 in the first set. As it turned out that was no problem as they reeled off eight straight points to win 25-21, which was followed by 25-16 and 25-13 set wins.

The Lady Cardinals will be making their second consecutive trip to the national tournament and third in program history. Last year, in West Plains, Mo., the Lady Cardinals finished eighth. In 2018, the Lady Cardinals were fifth.

Seedings and pairings for the tournament will be announced early this week.