DENTON, Texas (Oct. 15, 2016) – Sara Oxford again upped her career-high in kills, but Texas Woman's University fell for a second time in five sets in as many nights to come up short in a battle with West Texas A&M Saturday afternoon inside Kitty Magee Arena (19-25, 25-13, 21-25, 25-10, 13-15).
 
Oxford increased her best performance as a Pioneer to 24 kills, up from two in last night's five-set loss to UT Permian Basin, and also notched another double-double with her 13 digs to go along with a game-high seven blocks. Makayla Mayfield, starting at the libero position for the first time, totaled a career-high 31 digs. Courtney Noel made her way back into the lineup to produce 12 kills and five blocks.
 
The match was up-and-down throughout as TWU took the second and fourth sets. The Pioneers (6-13, 2-8 LSC) held WT (12-8, 7-3 LSC) to their lowest scoring output within the first four sets during conference play this season in the 15-point set four win.
 
Oxford gave TWU a 6-3 advantage in set one on a slide play, but the Lady Buffs jumped ahead 12-9. The teams were tied at 18-all until WT closed the frame on a 7-1 run. The Pioneers pieced together a 9-2 run in set two to open up a 12-5 lead. WT was unable to pull closer than six points throughout the remainder of the set to allow TWU to even up the match.
 
WT jumped ahead 10-4 in set three before Oxford provided a kill and Noel and Jade Akins teamed up for a kill to steer the Pioneers back on track. Kills by Noel and Haley Collins closed the gap to 13-11, but the Lady Buffs stormed back and went ahead 21-14. TWU again pulled close at 23-20, but WT snuck away with a four-point victory.
 
Set four was dominated by the Pioneers as they broke open a 2-2 tie with eight straight points highlighted by four Oxford kills. A WT kill made it a 12-6 game, but another TWU run increased the gap to 20-7. The Pioneers quickly scored the final five points to force a fifth set.
 
TWU found themselves in early trouble in set five trailing 6-1 contributed in part by four Pioneer attack errors. Kills by Akins and Noel sliced the margin to 10-8, and Mayfield registered a kill after and long rally to keep TWU to within two points. A critical defensive save was made by both Collins and Mary Kate Hyde as they dove into the bleachers to keep a ball alive that Kerstin Jenkins was able to salvage into a kill for a 13-11 ballgame in favor of the Lady Buffs. A WT kill on the next play made it match point, but the Pioneers stayed alive on an Oxford slide and a Lady Buff attack error, but a final kill by WT concluded the match.
 
The Pioneers have a full slate next week as they travel to Cameron Tuesday for a 7 p.m. match and then return home to Kitty Magee Arena to host No. 11 Angelo State Friday at 7 p.m. and Tarleton State Saturday at 2 p.m.