By MacKenzie Tuttle for Berryvikings.com

CONWAY, Ark. - - Katie O'Rourke spiked 18 kills, but the Berry College volleyball team fell to Birmingham-Southern College, 3-1, in a Southern Athletic Association semifinal match on Saturday afternoon. Set scores were 25-19, 19-25, 25-18 and 25-18.

The loss ended the Vikings' SAA tournament play, dropping their record to 24-7. The win improved the Panthers to 24-4. They face host Hendrix in the SAA final on Sunday.

O'Rourke hit .244 on the day, spiking 18 kills. Sara Priest added to the offensive effort, collecting 12 kills and hitting .250 in the loss.

Katie Truluck posted a match-high 32 digs for the Berry defense. Christina Goforth collected 17 digs as well.

Lauren Schmitz passed 46 assists on the day and garnered 11 digs.

For BSC, Jeneva Salter led the attack with 19 kills.

Berry led the match in both kills (55-50) and digs (90-88), while the Panthers led in blocks (8-5). BSC hit .220 to Berry's .156.

"Birmingham Southern did a great job of playing low-error and keeping us out of system," said Berry Head Coach Mika Robinson. "Once again, I thought we did a great job of battling back, but we dug ourselves into too many holes today. Now, we will wait to see if we get a second chance with an at large NCAA bid. I can't say enough about the leadership our three seniors provided this weekend and all season. They have made a tremendous impact--not just on this team--but on this program."

BC now waits to see if they will earn an at-large bid to the regional tournament. The team will gather in the Cage Center lobby to watch the NCAA Selection show on Monday at 11 a.m.