Although they had to do it away from home for the first time, No. 9 Lincoln Christian did what it has always done — punched its ticket to state.
The Bulldogs went on the road on Wednesday to beat Catoosa and No. 8 Oologah in the regional tournament, clinch the school's 17th consecutive trip to the state tournament.
Lincoln (19-17) swept Catoosa in the first round, winning all three sets.
The Bulldogs then had to take on tournament host Oologah with a trip to state on the line.
Lincoln was able to navigate the loud, raucous and frenzied atmosphere to win three of four sets and walk away as regional champions.
"Even though every seat in the gym was filled and the crowd was screaming, we all played calm, fluidly and together as a team, blocking out any distractions," said senior forward Jada Faulkner.
Lincoln will compete at the Class 4A State Tournament next weekend on Thursday-Saturday.
Lincoln is looking for its 6th state championship as a program and has won four in the last eight years — 2018, 2019, 2020 and 2022.
LINCOLN 3, CATOOSA 0
The Bulldogs dominated Catoosa on Wednesday afternoon, easily advancing to the regional final with a sweep.
Lincoln won 25-10, 25-5 and 25-14 over the Indians behind some strong serving.
Maleah Levell and Harlow Brown each had nine aces, leading the way for Lincoln offensively.
Anabel Nelson and Katelyn Brett each had three aces for the Bullodgs, as well.
Brown also led the Bulldogs with 10 kills in the win, while Wylie Bales had nine for Lincoln. Nelson had five kills, while Faulkner had three and Karlie Jones and Niya Willoby each had two.
Willoby led the way for Lincoln with 13 digs, while Jones and Levell each had seven and Nelson had six.
LINCOLN 3, OOLOGAH 1
In the win over Oologah, Lincoln got another great serving performance from Brown as the Bulldogs rolled towards another trip to state.
Brown had another nine aces, giving her a total of 18 for the day, to lead Lincoln in the regional championship.
Lincoln won the opening set 25-18 before falling 25-23 to Oologah to even the match.
The Bulldogs bounced back with a 25-22 win in the third set before closing things out 25-20 in the clincher.
Nelson added three aces, while Levell, Jones and Brett each had one.
Levell led the way for Lincoln with 21 digs, while Willoby had 17 and Nelson had 14. Jones had eight digs in the win, while Brown had seven, Bales had six, Brett finished with three and Faulkner added two.
Bales had a team-high 17 kills in the win, while Brown added 15 of her own. Faulkner and Nelson each had seven kills for Lincoln, while Willoby had five.
