DENTON, Texas (Oct. 13) – The TWU volleyball team recorded a season-high 15 team blocks and defeated visiting Oklahoma Baptist in four sets, 25-20, 24-26, 25-19, and 25-14.  The Pioneers extended their winning streak to seven and improved to 15-3 on the season.
 
Freshman Makayla Mayfield led the team on offense with 11 kills while sophomore Briley Cole added 10.  Senior Torie Talkington recorded a team-high 24 digs while junior Mallory Kuechle had 16 and senior Joey Redwine added 15 to go along with 35 assists.  Mayfield also recorded a double-double with 13 digs.
 
Senior Hillary Shaffer was the leader at the net with six block assists while junior Sara Oxford had five and Cole recorded four.  The Pioneers also recorded six service aces led by Mayfield with three.
 
TWU jumped out to a 7-1 lead to start the first set and captured a five-set win after posting a .317 hitting percentage.  In the second set OBU jumped out to a 7-3 lead but the Pioneers used a 6-0 run to take a 9-7 lead.  Both teams traded points until the scored was knotted at 21-21.  The Lady Bison scored three straight points to go on top 24-21 but TWU erased three set points to even the score at 24-24.  OBU recorded back-to-back kills to capture the set, 26-24.
 
In the third the Pioneers again jumped out to an early 6-3 lead and extended it to eight-point advantage with a 5-0 run.  TWU led by as many as nine points before winning the set by six.  In the fourth the Pioneers again took an early 5-1 lead and pushed it to 15-7 advantage.  TWU led by as many as 10 points and posted a .208 hitting percentage to capture a nine-point win.
 
"This was a great team win," said TWU head coach Shelly Barberee.  "We had four players with seven or more kills, five players with double-digit digs and five players with three or more blocks.  Briley had a good game offensively and had some big kills.  Our hitting percentage wasn't great in the second and third sets and had some unforced errors.  I am pleased with our defense and our blocking."
 
The Pioneers will return to action when they travel to Stephenville, TX, to face Tarleton State on Friday, Oct. 16.  First serve is scheduled for 6:00 p.m. in Wisdom Gym South.