LAKELAND, Fla. (Sept. 10) – Day Two of the FSC/Terrace Hotel Classic had its tough moments for Texas Woman's University Saturday as the Pioneers dropped two matches, with nearly half of the sets on the day decided by two points, to UC-Colorado Springs and Rollins to bring their final tournament record to 1-3 at Jenkins Field House.
 
TWU lasted four sets with UCCS (15-25, 24-26, 27-25, 19-25) and was led by Anna McGee's 14 kills and five blocks while Sara Oxford recorded a double-double with 11 kills and 20 digs. In the three sets against Rollins (23-25, 16-25, 21-25), McGee and Oxford again led the way with 10 kills apiece.
 
The second day of the classic swayed towards UCCS in match one as the Mountain Lions climbed to a 12-2 lead behind a 7-0 run before Sara Oxford and Jade Akins stuffed an attack. A kill by Anna McGee brought the Pioneers to within 15-9 and Kerstin Jenkins made it 17-10 on a tip to the back corner. UCCS doubled up TWU at 22-11 before putting the Pioneers away.
 
TWU again found themselves with an early deficit in set two, trailing 9-3 before climbing back after a 6-0 run that included a kill by Haley Collins, blocks by McGee, Collins and Courtney Noel, and a Mary Kate Hyde service ace. The teams toggled back and forth and the Pioneers pulled ahead 23-21 following a kill by McGee and two from Collins. A pair of TWU errors handed the advantage back to the Mountain Lions at 24-23 until Noel knotted things up with a kill down the line, but UCCS produced a kill and a Pioneer attack error finished the set.
 
A kill by Collins gave the Pioneers their first lead in set three at 6-5 as the squads battled and found themselves in a 16-16 tie after McGee sent a shot off of the blockers' hands that landed out of bounds. UCCS went ahead 17-16 on a kill, but a huge run made up of kills by Akins and McGee, a McGee block and an Emma Petolick ace gave TWU a 21-18 advantage. The set seemed to be wrapped up with the Pioneers leading 24-20 but three straight kills from the Mountain Lions made things close again. UCCS pleaded the score should be tied at 24-all but were eventually overruled after several minutes. With the set tied at 25-all, a kill by Collins and an attack error from the Mountain Lions kept the Pioneers alive to play another set.
 
TWU fell behind 3-0 to start the third set and the Mountain Lions moved to an 11-6 lead. A block by Noel and McGee set the score at 13-8 before an attack and block error by the Pioneers put UCCS up 17-10. Collins registered two kills and teamed up with McGee for a block to pull TWU to within 17-14, and a back row attack by Oxford kept the Pioneers close at 19-16. UCCS took a 23-17 lead with three straight points before finishing off the match.
 
In TWU's final match of the classic, kills by McGee gave her squad early leads in set one at 3-2 and 4-3 against Rollins before the Tars pulled ahead 11-8. An impressive defensive play by Petolick resulted in a block by Collins and McGee to cut the deficit to 16-14. A kill by Oxford down the middle pulled the Pioneers close at 20-19, and a block by McGee and Briley Cole tied the game at 22-22. A Tar attack error gave TWU a one-point advantage, but consecutive RC kills and a block ended the set.
 
The Pioneers were never able to grab momentum in the second set, falling behind at 7-4, 9-5 and 12-6. McGee, Oxford and Akins combined for six kills to keep TWU in contention at 19-13, but RC rattled off three straight to increase the lead to 22-13 and tacked on two more points for the win.
 
Erin Jones delivered an ace on the first play of set three to spark the Pioneers to leads of 7-4 and 9-6. The Tars managed their first lead at 11-10 on a kill and extended the gap to 18-15 before Collins chalked up a kill to pull close at 18-17. An ace by RC upped the margin to 22-18, and the Tars put the Pioneers away with a final kill.
 
The Pioneers begin Lone Star Conference play next week on the road at No. 19 Angelo State on Thursday at 7 p.m. and Tarleton State Saturday at noon.