Rockhurst women lose in semifinals of NCAA D-II volleyball tournament

The Rockhurst women’s run in the postseason and quest for a national volleyball championship this season came to halt on Friday night.

Nebraska-Kearney beat Rockhurst 25-23, 24-26, 25-22, 25-19 in a hard-fought match in the semifinals of the NCAA Division II national tournament in Denver.

Alyssa Woodman had a team-leading 15 kills across the four games against Nebraska-Kearney.

Rockhurst was seeking to knock off the undefeated Lopers and advance to Saturdya’s final.

Rockhurst, the No. 3 seed of the final eight teams in the tournament, had beaten Carson-Newman (Tenn.) 3-0 in Thursday’s quarterfinals. It was the Hawks’ eight straight victory.

Rockhurst, ranked 19th in the latest coaches’ Division II poll, finished the season 33-8. The Hawks captured the Great Lakes Valley Conference tournament as part of their run that got them to the national semifinals.

Nebraska-Kearney, the No. 2 team in the rankings, improved to 38-0. The Lopers on Saturday will face the winner between top-seeded Cal State San Bernardino, which is 31-0, and No. 4 seed Regis (Colo.).