NCF Volleyball fell one set short of its first-ever Sun Conference Championship Saturday as it dropped a 3-2 heartbreaker to top-seeded and No. 13 St. Thomas in the finals of the Sun Conference Tournament.

St. Thomas swept NCF twice during the regular season, but it was the Mighty Banyans who set the tone early, winning the first set 25-16 in convincing fashion.

The Bobcats rallied back to win the second set 25-11 but the Mighty Banyans answered by winning the third set 25-23 to move within one set of a Sun Conference title.

St. Thomas took control of the fourth set winning 25-19 to set up a desicive fifth set which saw NCF jump in front 6-4 and then 8-7 but the Bobcats flexed its muscles by closing out the match on a 8-4 run to win the set 15-12 and secure its its fourth straight Sun Conference Tournament title with the victory.

Soraya Nacero and Wiktoria Telecka each logged 14 kills in the loss to lead the team. Jayleen Santiago also had double-digit kills with 13, while Abigail Willis finished with eight kills, and Cecilia Soragna posted seven kills, with four coming off blocks.

Sun Conference Setter of the Year Rafaela Domingos, recorded a team-high 48 assists, while Sun Conference Libero of the Year, Maria Luiza Barreis and Nacero each logged nine digs to lead the Mighty Banyans defensive efforts

NCF will be hoping to earn an NAIA Tournament at-large bid during Monday's selection show slated for 5 p.m. EST on the NAIA's YouTube Channel. If it does not receive a bid, the Mighty Banyans will finish it second season in program history with an outstanding 20-5 record.