DENTON, Texas (Sept. 27, 2016) – Career and season-highs were abundant for Texas Woman's University in a 3-2 victory over Dallas Baptist to snap a seven-game losing streak Tuesday night inside Kitty Magee Arena.
 
Katy Ranes made her starting debut (4-9, 1-4 LSC) and tossed out a career-best 55 assists along with 17 digs for her first double-double as a Pioneer. Briley Cole notched a career-high 14 kills while Anna McGee tied her best outing as a Pioneer with 15 kills, and Courtney Noel was also a force on the front line with 10 kills and a career-high seven blocks. Sara Oxford and Kerstin Jenkins totaled 11 kills each, and Oxford registered another double-double with her 12 digs.
 
The Patriots scored the opening point of the match and kept ahead of the Pioneers throughout the first half of set one. Trailing 13-8, a kill by Cole began an 8-0 TWU run highlighted by a pair of Oxford kills and a block alongside Jenkins.  The Pioneers went ahead 20-15 on a DBU ball handling error before TWU committed two errors of their own to narrow the gap to 20-17. Oxford produced a kill and McGee followed up with two more to keep DBU at bay, and final kills by Noel and McGee finalized the win.
 
Set two began with two kills from each squad before the Patriots compiled four straight points, three which came from TWU errors. With DBU leading 9-6, a slew of attacks were blocked as Noel compiled three, one next to McGee and two alongside Cole, to push the Pioneers ahead at 11-10. The Patriots went ahead 15-12 but kills by Jenkins helped TWU tie things up at 15-all. Back-to-back kills by Jenkins and Oxford gave the Pioneers a 21-17 advantage, and McGee delivered two more to give the Pioneers a 2-0 match lead.
 
DBU held a small margin over TWU throughout the first part of set three and grew the margin to 10-5. A service ace by Oxford and kill by Noel kept the same deficit at 13-8 before an 8-3 DBU run widened the gap to 21-11. Down 23-14, the Pioneers rallied with four straight points concluding with two Cole kills, but a Patriot block and TWU attack error kept DBU alive to force another set.
 
The Patriots served over two aces in set four to go up 7-5 and grew the lead to 13-8 on a block. An ace by Emma Petolick and a DBU attack error pulled TWU to within 14-13 while a kill from Cole kept the Pioneers to within one point two plays later. A 5-1 DBU spurt upped the margin to 20-15 before an Oxford ace cut the gap to 21-19, and a McGee kill pulled her team closer at 22-21. The Patriots put together a pair of kills and forced a fifth set with a final block.
 
TWU pounced early in the fifth set to open with a 9-1 gaping lead, helped by an active Noel at the net who racked up three straight blocks, two of which were solo and one beside Ranes. A McGee tip kept the lead at 10-2, and Cole and McGee each careened a kill off of the DBU blockers for a 12-4 advantage. The Patriots sent an attack long and Cole smoked another kill off of the defenders to pull the Pioneers close to victory at 13-5. Jenkins and Oxford registered the last two points on kills to give TWU the much-awaited win.
 
The Pioneers get back into conference play Friday by hosting Midwestern State at 7 p.m. inside Kitty Magee Arena.