WICHITA FALLS, Texas (Oct. 25) – Down two sets to none, the TWU volleyball team rallied to capture a five-set thriller at Midwestern State on Saturday afternoon.  The Pioneers dropped the first two sets by dentical scoree of 25-23 but battled back to win the next three sets, 25-9, 25-22 and 15-7.
 
For the second straight game four TWU players recorded double-digit kills led by freshman Elizabeth Pennington with a game-high 14 kills.  Junior Hillary Shaffer and sophomore Mallory Kuechle added 13 kills each while senior Jaqueline Santos recorded 10 and freshman Briley Cole chipped in seven kills.  The Pioneers' senior libero, Morgan Wilson, had a game-high 22 digs on defense while TWU junior setter Joey Redwine had a game-high 52 assists.
 
In the first set, neither team led by more than two points through the first 30 points.  MSU used a 5-2 run to take a 21-16 lead before the Pioneers scored four of the next five points.  TWU cut it to a one point deficit, 23-22, but the Mustangs scored two of the next three points to close out the set.
 
In the second set, both teams went back and forth with 12 ties and five lead changes.   With the score tied at 20, MSU scored three straight points but the Pioneers responded with three straight points of their own to knot the score at 23-23.  The Mustangs' Kat Molloy recorded back-to-back kills to give MSU a two-point win.
 
TWU regrouped and jumped out to an 8-0 lead in the third set.  The Pioneers held MSU to -.206 hitting percentage and forced the Mustangs into 11 hitting errors in a 16-point win.
 
In the fourth set, both teams again traded points before TWU scored four straight to take a 14-10 lead.  The Pioneers led 20-16 before MSU went on a 6-2 run to tie the score at 22-22.  TWU responded with back-to-back-to-back points to force the deciding fifth set.
 
In the fifth, the Pioneers jumped out to an early 6-3 lead.  TWU again held the Mustangs to -.167 hitting percentage to claim an eight-point win in the decisive set.
 
"We didn't match up well with their style of play and struggled in the first two sets," said TWU head coach Shelly Barberee.  "We regrouped and got back in the game with a big win in the third set.  In our conference every game is tough when you play on the road.  This is another big win for us as it keeps us in second place in the LSC standings."
 
The Pioneers will return to action when they play their final non-conference game of the regular season on Wednesday, Oct. 29.  TWU will travel to Durant, OK, to play Southeastern Oklahoma State at 6:00 p.m.