CANYON, Texas (Nov. 2, 2018) – Texas Woman's fought hard against West Texas A&M through five sets (21-25, 25-23, 25-20, 21-25, 9-15), but couldn't break through the Lady Buffs' defense after going up two sets to one.
 
WT (18-11, 12-7 Lone Star) took an early lead and held on to it in the first set, putting up a five-point run at 7-11 that widened their gap to nine points. The Pioneers (17-12, 9-10 LSC) caught a couple of four-point runs in the lead-up to set point thanks to a spread-out offense and West Texas errors, but a bad set by junior Bailey French gave the set to the Lady Buffs, 21-25.
 
"We were down 18-9 and made a great run at it, and that really set the stage for how we played in the second and third," TWU head coach Jeff Huebner said. 
 
The second set saw the Pioneers finding some comfort despite dropping their hit percentage from .146 to .115. Senior Makayla Mayfield and junior Courtney Noel put away two early kills in the set, but the Lady Buffs quickly caught up and kept the score tight until a series of errors sent them spiraling to 17-12. WT would not be kept down, however, nearly closing in at TWU's set point with a serious block on Noel's attack and a setting error called on junior Katy Ranes, but Noel managed to send a hard attack down the court that went wild on the Lady Buff's reception, finishing off the set for the Pioneers, 25-23.
 
"What you see in this game is the two best teams defensively in the conference against each other," Huebner said. "We're both in the top 25 nationally. I don't think anyone had a bad attacking night, I just think that they played great defense and we played great defense."
 
Neither team mustered a solid hitting percent in the third set, the Pioneers leading with .102 to the Lady Buff's -.023. West Texas seriously struggled in the middle of the set, falling nine points behind at 19-10thanks to back-to-back kills by Mayfield and junior Caroline Noel. It was errors that would ultimately do in the Lady Buffs this set, ending with a service error by Sydnee Johnson at the Pioneers' set point, giving TWU another set, 25-20.
 
"I think that Courtney and Caroline both did a really good job of closing and executing game plans," Huebner said. "Playing against West Texas can be challenging because they have so many hitters, just like we do, and we had some really incredible defensive numbers around those."
 
West Texas went into serious recovery mode in the fourth set, bringing up their hitting percentage to .204 and getting their most kills in a set with 15. Neither team paced a significant lead at any point, but the Pioneers stayed on the Lady Buffs' heels. Courtney Noel and WT's Taylor Kress played a serious back and forth towards the end of the set with kills, leading to a three-point run by the Pioneers that almost gave them the momentum to win the set, but a block by Kress and Lindsey Smith on Caroline Noel's attempt favored WT, 21-25.
 
"We played so well in sets two and three, but when you have West Texas at home you have to continue to press on," Huebner said. "We tried a couple of different things, played some great rallies. I was just proud of our kids for fighting and staying in it and creating good opportunities."
 
The Pioneers entered the fifth set clearly worn down by the preceding battle, sinking to a .037 hit percent and only reaching four kills, three from Caroline Noel. Texas Woman's almost caught up at 4-5, but West Texas went on a five-point run that squashed the Pioneers' hopes of catching victory. Caroline Noel scored one final kill then teamed with freshman Elizabeth Ugbaja to block Kress, a point won after a successful challenge. But the momentum couldn't be stopped as Destiny Jones slammed home the winning point to end the set and the match, 9-15. 
 
"Caroline was particularly excellent today, making good decisions with the ball and just playing with really great energy," Huebner said. "A lot of that comes from playing with high effort and passion for the game, and we appreciate her bringing that to the court for us, especially of late."
 
TWU hit .110 and registered nine blocks led by four each from the Noel sisters and Ugbaja. Courtney Noel led all players with 15 kills on 47 swings, while Caroline Noel registered the best hitting percentage at .308 on 11 kills and three errors on 26 total attempts. Junior Bailey French tallied 35 digs, and Ranes added to her league-leading assist total with a match-high 47 assists, landing another double-double with her 22 digs.
 
"(Ranes) is playing great defense, I think that she's far and away the best setter in our conference, and we know every night that we have the opportunity to win because she can move the ball around and make great decisions that no one else in our league can do," Huebner said.
 
The Pioneers look to finish the regular season slate on a winning note as they travel to play Eastern New Mexico (9-18, 7-12 LSC) at 1 p.m. Central Time Saturday.