CANYON, Texas (Nov. 10, 2016) – Texas Woman's University heads to the panhandle for its final weekend road trip of the regular season to face West Texas A&M Friday at 7:30 inside The Box.
 
TEXAS WOMAN'S (9-18, 5-13 LSC) vs. WEST TEXAS A&M (16-13, 10-8 LSC)
Friday, Nov. 11 at 7:30 p.m.
The Box (Canyon, Texas)
 
About the Pioneers
This final weekend is crucial, as the Pioneers must win one of the remaining two matches to grab the eighth and final spot in the Lone Star Conference tournament. The Pioneers are 5-13 in the LSC standings, one win behind Midwestern State with one game remaining for the Mustangs. Should the teams both conclude with the same record, TWU would earn the final spot as the Pioneers hold the tiebreaker after winning both contests against MSU this season. 
 
About the Lady Buffs
WT enters the last week of regular season play in the sixth spot in the LSC standings at 10-8 and have won two of their last six matches.
 
History between Texas Woman's and West Texas A&M
The Lady Buffs have taken 41 victories in the 49 meetings between the squads dating to the 1980 season. Before the 3-2 loss against WT this season on Oct. 15,  the Pioneers had won both matchups last season, a 3-0 sweep in Canyon and a five-set win at home.
 
Last meeting of TWU and WT
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.
 
Win places TWU in eighth place
DENTON, Texas (Nov. 5, 2016) – Sara Oxford, Anna McGee and Mary Kate Hyde of Texas Woman's University made the most of their curtain call playing inside Kitty Magee Arena in a 3-1 win (25-23, 2-25, 25-20, 25-22) over Western New Mexico Saturday afternoon to vault the Pioneers into eighth place within the Lone Star Conference standings for the final spot in the conference tournament with two games remaining during the regular season.
 
Oxford notched another stellar performance with a game-high 19 kills and 14 digs for her 13th double-double of the season. McGee pieced together her best showing in over a month with 13 kills and three blocks while Hyde compiled a game-high 27 assists. The trio competed in their home finale after a collective six seasons playing in a Pioneer jersey.
 
The victory pushed TWU (9-18, 5-12 LSC) into a tie with Midwestern State for eighth place within the league, and the Pioneers hold the tiebreaker from defeating MSU in both contests this season. TWU holds a two-game lead over UT Permian Basin (whom the Pioneers play during the final game of the season) and are three wins behind WNMU (16-12, 8-9 LSC).
 
In set one, TWU trailed 17-9 before Haley Collins sparked a 4-0 run to pull the Pioneers to within 17-13. Oxford headlined a 5-0 run shortly thereafter to tie the set at 20-all. TWU pulled ahead 22-21 on a kill by Courtney Noel, and McGee placed the Pioneers at set point with a kill off of a block before Hyde sent over the final point on a service ace.
 
Kills by Oxford and Noel along with a block by McGee and Noel opened set two, but WNMU quickly tied things at 4-4. A 4-0 Pioneer run erased a 16-12 deficit, but the Mustangs charged ahead at 22-18. A kill by Collins brought TWU to within 23-20, but WNMU tallied the final two points.
 
With an 11-9 lead in set three, the Pioneers tacked on four straight points and then extended the lead to 20-13 following a Mustang attack error. WNMU cut the margin to 23-20 on an ace and Pioneer attack error, but the Mustangs served a ball into the net and Oxford threw down another kill for the set win.
 
WNMU held a 16-12 advantage in set four until Oxford delivered two kills and teamed up with Katy Ranes for a block while Emma Petolick served up a pair of aces to hand TWU a 17-16 lead. Ranes caught the defense off guard by tossing over a dump that hit the line for a 20-19 lead, and back-to-back kills by Noel and Collins doubled the margin to 23-21. Two last kills by Oxford sealed the important win for the Pioneers.