DENTON, Texas (Oct. 28, 2016) – Texas Woman's University heads south to Texas A&M-Kingsville for a Saturday match at 1 p.m. inside the Gil E. Steinke Physical Education Center.
 
TEXAS WOMAN'S (7-16, 3-11 LSC) at TEXAS A&M-KINGSVILLE (19-6, 9-4 LSC)
Saturday, Oct. 29 at 1 p.m.
Gil E. Steinke Physical Education Center (Kingsville, Texas)
 
About the Pioneers
With six games remaining on the schedule, TWU is in a fight for a spot in the Lone Star Conference tournament. As of Friday, the 3-11 mark by the Pioneers has them sitting in a tie for 9^th place within the 11-team league, and eight teams advance to the tournament.
 
About the Javelinas
TAMUK ranks fourth in the LSC with a 9-4 record. The Javelinas lead the conference in blocks with an average of 2.43 per match and service aces with 1.71.
 
History between Texas Woman's and Texas A&M-Kingsville
Throughout the teams' 23-year old history, the Pioneers have won 38 of the 46 meetings. The Javelinas took the first meeting of the season, a 3-1 defeat of TWU inside Kitty Magee Arena on Sept. 24.
 
Last meeting of TWU and TAMUK
DENTON, Texas (Sept. 24, 2016) – Texas Woman's University volleyball dominated set one against Texas A&M-Kingsville but was unable to keep the momentum throughout the rest of the match as the Javelinas defeated the Pioneers in four sets Saturday afternoon inside Kitty Magee Arena.
 
Sara Oxford had a notable performance for TWU (3-9, 0-4 LSC) with a double-double, her third on the season, of 16 kills and 11 digs while Anna McGee added a dozen kills throughout the four-set loss (25-14, 15-25, 15-25, 22-25). The Pioneers recorded a .500 hitting percentage during their rout in the first set but followed it up with a negative mark in set two and finished the day at .132. The Javelinas (11-3, 3-1 LSC) did not fare much better at an overall clip of .151 but compiled 10 team blocks compared to three by TWU.
 
Inspiring third set rally not enough to carry Pioneers
DENTON, Texas (Oct. 25, 2016) – Sara Oxford recorded a game-high 16 kills and Kerstin Jenkins totaled a dozen in a four-set loss (20-25, 23-25, 29-27, 16-25) to Texas A&M-Commerce Tuesday evening inside Kitty Magee Arena.
 
The Pioneers (7-16, 3-11 LSC) dropped the first two set to the Lions (14-11, 8-6 LSC) before rallying big for the 29-27 win. Katy Ranes handed out a game-high 38 assists, and Makayla Mayfield registered a team-high 21 digs.
 
Oxford handed the Pioneers their first lead of the evening in set one following a pair of kills and a block alongside Erin Terry for a 4-3 TWU advantage. A kill by Jenkins tied the set at 7-all prior to three straight points by the Lions. The Pioneers pulled to within 11-10 on a TAMUC service error but then fell behind 16-12. A kill by Courtney Noel off of a block on the outside had the Pioneers two within 20-19, but a 5-1 Lion run closed out the set.
 
A back row attack by Oxford in set two gave TWU a 2-1 edge, and a kill by Katy Ranes and a service ace on the line by Erin Jones upped the margin to 5-3. Three straight aces by Ranes made it a 15-7 contest, but the Lions stormed back with an 8-1 run that quickly closed the gap to 16-15. TAMUC took a 20-19 lead on a Pioneer attack error before Haley Collins regained the advantage at 22-21 on a cross-court kill. At 23-23, the Lions sent over a serve that was called out but was overruled to give TAMUC a 24-23 lead, and a block by the Lions ended set two.
 
The third set was a battle as neither team lead by more than three. Ranes broke a 17-17 tie with a dump over the net, and a kill by Jenkins put the Pioneers up 20-18. An ace by Jenkins four plays later kept TWU to within two at 22-20. A block by Oxford and Collins put the Pioneers at set point at 24-23, but back-to-back Lion points handed TAMUC match point. TWU fought off another match point from the Lions at 27-26, and Jenkins put the Pioneers in contention to win with a kill at 28-27. A block by Skyler Friel and Ranes saved the match for TWU and sent the contest into a fourth set.
 
Two early Lion errors in set four granted the Pioneers a 7-4 lead before TAMUC erased the deficit to tie things up at 7-all. A block by Ranes and Oxford put the Pioneers in front at 10-8 until a four-point swing put the Lions ahead at 13-11. TAMUC scored three straight to take an 18-13 advantage and increased it to 22-14 on a Pioneer attack error, and moved to eventually take the match.