LAKELAND, Fla. (Sept. 9, 2016) – Texas Woman's University volleyball looks to build upon a 1-1 showing during Day One of the FSC/Terrace Hotel Classic Saturday as the team wraps up the tournament with matches against UC-Colorado Springs and Rollins.
 
TEXAS WOMAN'S (3-3) vs. UC-COLORADO SPRINGS (4-2)
Saturday, Sept. 10 at 11 a.m. CST
Jenkins Field House (Lakeland, Fla.)
All-time series: UCCS leads 3-1
 
TEXAS WOMAN'S (3-3) at ROLLINS (3-2)
Saturday, Sept. 10 at 3:30 p.m. CST
Jenkins Field House (Lakeland, Fla.)
All-time series: TWU leads 2-0
 
Tournament Central: http://fscmocs.com/sports/wvball/2016-17/releases/20160804mdx8ew
 
About UC-Colorado Springs
The Mountain Lions have amassed an overall record of 4-2 on the season following competition in the Oklahoma Panhandle State Classic and here at the Terrace Hotel Classic. UCCS defeated LIU Post and lost to Rollins on Day One of the tournament.  
 
Last meeting between Pioneers and Mountain Lions
DENTON, Texas (Sept. 5, 2015) – The TWU volleyball team split on the second at the 2015 Hilton Garden Inn Classic.  The Pioneers swept Arkansas Tech, 25-20, 25-23 and 25-19 before falling to UC-Colorado Springs, 21-25, 25-27 and 16-25. In the final game against UC-Colorado Springs, Mayfield led the Pioneers with 12 kills and a .308 hitting percentage.  Junior Sara Oxford added seven kills and 12 digs while senior Torie Talkington led the team with 17 digs.  Kuechle also had 15 digs and Redwine added 24 assists and 11 digs.
 
About Rollins
The Tars split their season opening tournament at 2-2 during the SpringHill Suites Invitational in Alaska last weekend and defeated UC-Colorado Springs Friday in the Terrace Hotel Classic.
 
Last meeting between Pioneers and Tars
TWU won in four sets over RC on Aug. 25, 2007.
 
Pioneers score a win before falling to No. 23
LAKELAND, Fla. (Sept. 9) – Texas Woman's University volleyball opened their play at the FSC/Terrace Hotel Classic with a 3-1 win over LIU Post but struggled against the host team, 23rd-ranked Florida Southern, in the final match of the day as Mocs defeated the Pioneers 3-0 Friday inside Jenkins Field House.
 
Anna McGee paced TWU in the four set win (21-25, 25-20, 25-15, 25-15) over LIU Post with a game-highs of 14 kills and seven blocks while Sara Oxford added 10 kills. Mary Kate Hyde handed out a game-best 41 assists, and Emma Petolick led all players with 19 digs. In the three set loss (25-16, 25-11, 25-16) versus FSC, McGee tallied eight kills and Hyde recorded a double-double with 19 assists and 12 digs.
 
Volleyball Picked Third, Oxford Named Preseason Defensive Player of the Year
DENTON, Texas (Aug. 16, 2016) - Coming off a 24-win season and a third-place finish in the Lone Star Conference (LSC), Texas Woman's has been tapped to remain in the third spot for the upcoming 2016 campaign.  Senior middle blocker Sara Oxford has been chosen LSC Preseason Defensive Player of the Year.  The voting was conducted among the league's head coaches, sports information directors and various media representatives from throughout the region.
 
TWU earned 239 votes, finishing behind Angelo State, the defending LSC tournament champion and South Central Region runner-up, and Tarleton State, the regular-season LSC champion.
TWU qualified for its 13th consecutive conference tournament appearance last year where they swept past Texas A&M-Commerce in the first round before falling to eventual champion Angelo State in a tight four-set battle.  TWU earned an at-large bid to the NCAA South Central Regional Tournament for the second time in three years.  As the fifth seed, the Pioneers took on fourth-seeded Colorado School of Mines, falling in three sets.
 
Last season in her first year in maroon and white, Oxford was named both LSC Newcomer and Defensive Player of the Year as well as All-Conference First Team and All-Region First Team.  The Decatur native led the Pioneers in total blocks (118) while finishing second on the team in points (362.5) and total kills (283).  Her defensive efforts at the net placed her fifth in school history for block assists (111) in a season, while her average of 1.06 blocks per set placed her third in the conference.
 
TWU Volleyball Earns Ninth Straight AVCA Award for Academic Excellence
DENTON, Texas (July 29, 2016) - For the ninth consecutive year the TWU Volleyball team earned American Volleyball Coaches Association (AVCA) Team Academic Award honors for posting a team grade point average of 3.570 during the 2015-16 academic year.
 
During this past year, the Pioneers posted the top volleyball team GPA in the Lone Star Conference, highlighted by senior All-America middle blocker Hillary Shaffer being named an LSC Scholar-Athlete of the Year.  Shaffer, along with fellow departing senior Torie Talkington, junior Mallory Kuechle, and sophomores Baylie Barnes and Briley Cole, all earned perfect 4.0 GPA's.  Overall, 13 of the 15 volleyball student-athletes recorded a GPA of 3.30 or better.   
 
The AVCA Team Academic Award, which was initiated in 1992-93, honors collegiate and high school volleyball teams that display excellence in the classroom during the school year by maintaining at least a 3.30 cumulative team grade point average on a 4.0 scale or a 4.10 cumulative team GPA on a 5.0 scale.  During the 2015-16 academic year a record 113 NCAA Division II teams were honored.  TWU led a group of four LSC schools that included Angelo State, Eastern New Mexico and Texas A&M-Commerce.
 
Fifteen Home Games, Trip to The Sunshine State Highlight Volleyball Schedule
DENTON, Texas  (June 10, 2016) - A trip to Florida, a six-team home tournament to start the season and 15 home games highlight the 2016 TWU volleyball schedule.  The Pioneers will play a total of 29 regular season games including 15 home games, 11 away games and three contests on a neutral site.
 
TWU will open the season at home with its annual Hilton Garden Inn Classic on Sept. 2-3.  The Pioneers will face Newman and Colorado State-Pueblo on the opening day on Friday, Sept. 2 before playing Harding and Lubbock Christian on Saturday, Sept. 3.
 
The following week TWU will travel to Lakeland, FL, to play in the Florida Southern/Terrace Hotel Classic on Sept. 9-10.  The Pioneers will take on LIU Post, Florida Southern, UC-Colorado Springs and Rollins.
 
TWU will play 20 of the remaining 21 regular season games against Lone Star Conference opponents.  The lone non-conference game will be against Dallas Baptist on Tuesday, Sept. 27 at home.  The home-and-home LSC schedule against the 10 conference teams will be played between Sept. 16 - Nov. 12.  This year's LSC schedule will also include two newcomers to the league, UT Permian Basin and Western New Mexico.
 
The top eight teams in the final conference standings will earn a berth in the 2016 LSC Championship Tournament.  The top-seed will host the tournament on Nov. 17-19.