WICHITA FALLS, Texas (Oct. 2) – The TWU volleyball team defeated the host Midwestern State, 25-15, 25-17, and 25-20, on Friday evening at D.L. Ligon Coliseum. With the win the Pioneers improved to 11-3 on the season and 4-1 in the Lone Star Conference.
TWU posted a .285 hitting percentage as a team recording 42 kills on 123 attempts and just seven errors. The Pioneers also had seven team blocks and five service aces.
Junior
Sara Oxford led all players with 11 kills while junior
Mallory Kuechle and freshman
Makayla Mayfield had eight kills each. Senior
Joey Redwine led the game with 31 assists while Mayfield was the leader on defense with 14 digs. Kuechle and senior
Torie Talkington also reached double digits in digs with 13 and 12 respectively. Sophomore
Briley Cole was the leader at the net with four total blocks.
In the first set the Pioneers jumped out to a 9-3 lead and then used a 7-3 run to build a 10-point lead. TWU had just one hitting error in the set and posted a .278 hitting percentage.
In the second set both teams split the first 10 points before the Pioneers went on a 9-3 run to take a 14-8 lead. The Mustangs cut the deficit to three but TWU closed out the set on an 8-3 run while hitting over .300.
In the third the Pioneers scored the first three points before both teams started to trade points. Neither team led by more than two points and the score was tied at 18-18 before TWU went on a run. The Pioneers closed out the game on a 7-2 run.
"We played a clean game and did not force anything," said TWU head coach
Shelly Barberee. "We made them earn their points. We only had seven hitting errors and ran our offense very well. We distributed the ball to all our hitters and got 20 kills from our outside and right side hitters and 17 kills from our middles. I am very pleased with our performance."
The Pioneers will now head to Lawton, OK, to face Cameron on Saturday, Oct. 3. First sever is scheduled for 2:00 p.m. against the Aggies who are currently 13-0 on the season and 4-0 in the conference.
