DENTON, Texas (Sept. 15, 2017) - Miri Shade posted a season and team-high 17 kills along with a team-high 15 kills to lead Texas Woman's University in taking the first set over No. 14 Tarleton State Friday evening inside Kitty Magee Arena.
 
The Pioneers (2-7, 0-1 LSC) challenged the TexAnns (7-3, 1-0 LSC) in the four-set loss (25-21, 16-25, 21-25, 16-25) with Katy Ranes tossing out a game-high 33 assists along with a pair of service aces, and Briley Cole-Lewis registering nine kills.
 
A Shade kill registered the first point of the contest, but the Pioneers fell behind until a TexAnn error for a 12-11 lead. A kill by Courtney Noel preceded Shade powering through a block to put the Pioneers up 19-16. Shade then sent a tip to the TSU side of the floor, and as it came back she slammed it back down to keep TWU ahead 21-19. Cole-Lewis knocked down a TexAnn return and then notched the final point from the right side for a TWU set win.
 
"Our players came out ready to compete with the No. 14 team tonight. I was really happy with the energy in the gym, the fans, band and dance team were great and our players really responded. Miri played great for us and it was nice to see her back and confident," Head Coach Jeff Huebner said.
 
A kill by Kerstin Jenkins in set two pulled the Pioneers to within 6-4, but six straight TexAnn points, including three straight blocks, sent TWU into a 12-4 hole. Shade found the back corner to cut the lead to 13-7, but the TexAnns earned four straight to go up 17-7. The Pioneers were unable to pull closer than eight points the rest of the set.
 
Shade put TWU up early in set three on a kill at 2-1 before TSU strung together a 4-0 run. A cross-court kill by Cole-Lewis cut the advantage to 7-4, and a ball handling error on the TexAnns tied the set at 19-all. Ranes gave the Pioneers a lead at 20-19 on an ace, but TSU finished the set on a 6-1 run.
 
In the fourth set, a kill by Haley Collins put TWU up 2-1 but that proved to be the only Pioneer lead for the remainder of the match. A kill by Shade and ace by Bailey French closed TWU to within 14-8, but a TexAnn kill stretched the advantage to 20-10 and led to a 25-16 final.
 
"We are excited about our opportunity to compete with another ranked team tomorrow," Huebner said.
 
The Pioneers host fifth-ranked Angelo State Saturday at 2 p.m.