(DURANT, Okla.) – Texas Woman's defeated East Central 25-15, 24-26, 25-14, 25-14 to start day two of the South Central Classic, and then finished with a sweep of host Southeastern Oklahoma State 25-21, 25-12, 25-22. The Pioneers went 3-1 in the tournament to improve to 6-2 overall.
In the opening match, TWU notched a hitting percentage of .266 with junior Courtney Noel leading the way with a game-high 11 kills and hitting at a .455 clip. Freshman Trixie Oche continues to impress as she played in just three of the sets, had seven kills and no errors on nine attempts for a .778 hitting percentage.
After a quick 25-15 win in set one, TWU lost its momentum to a determined ECU squad that thwarted any Pioneer threat. The score was tied nine different times and TWU had set point at 24-22 but a Pioneer serve sailed long to keep the Tigers in the mix. Two straight TWU hitting errors that went wide and long gave ECU the opportunity they needed and Breanna Waldo's kill won it, 26-24.
"With how we started, I was disappointed in our effort in the second set," Head Coach Jeff Heubner said. "But I loved how we responded in sets three and four."
Lineup changes sparked the TWU offense. Freshman Liz Ugbaja had back-to-back kills early in the third to give TWU a 5-4 edge. Senior Makayla Mayfield, Noel, and Oche added to the firepower as the Pioneers built an 11-point lead at 20-9. A Mayfield kill won the third set at 25-14.
The Pioneers poured it on in the fourth set, tallying a .581 hitting percentage. Junior Katy Ranes set Noel perfectly with a slide that ECU could not handle and then they combined for the block to stifle the Tiger attack. Oche got a quick set from Ranes and then she partnered with Frederick on the block as TWU stretched the lead to 10. Two straight kills from junior Maggie Pyles gave the Pioneers the fourth set, 25-14, and the victory.
"The match against ECU is a testament to our depth," Huebner said. "We had different players playing well at different times, specifically Katy Ranes who was incredible. When our outsides were struggling, she did a great job getting the ball to Trixie (Oche) and Courtney (Noel) and Liz (Ugbaja). Senior Makayla Mayfield continues to play really tough. She has consistency when she's playing like this that really makes our team go. This was Courtney's best performance of the season so far and Bailey French was solid for us on defense."
In the last match of the day, the Pioneers played in tune with each other as the long weekend seemed to help this young team gel. The first set featured runs on both sides until TWU broke the tie at 20 with a kill from Ugbaja. A combination of SEOSU errors and a Pyles ace put TWU on top 25-21 on a .235 hitting percentage.
The Pioneers found their stride in set two with Ranes spreading the offensive attack and French defending the back court on the way to a 25-12 win that was sealed with a Mayfield ace. TWU registered a .469 hitting percentage and prepared to keep the momentum going.
The Savage Storm (3-5) rallied back in the third set though, maintaining the lead from the start and had TWU down 22-18 on a kill from Abby Jameson. But the Pioneers could not be denied as they ticked off seven straight points with kills from Mayfield and Pyles, a Pyles/Oche block, service aces from freshman Kenna Muff, a transition kill from Pyles, and a Jameson attack error to steal the win 25-22 and earn the sweep.
"We made good choices and were disciplined tonight," Huebner said. "We were tough when confronted with adversity. That's the reason we were able to win, coming from behind like that."
Huebner praised the overall performance of his team, which is back on a three-game winning streak, and said he is happy with how much progress they are making this early in the season.
"Our team defense and our blocking are much improved from the first weekend," he said. "I really think that Katy (Ranes) runs a balanced offense and she is getting more and more comfortable with our hitters. As freshmen, Liz (Ugbaja) and Trixie (Oche) had their best weekend and that's Katy getting them the ball in the right situations for them to be successful. Bailey French basically locks down an entire side of the court for us and is tallying a ton of digs."
Pyles turned in an impressive stat line - 14 kills, zero errors, .483 hitting percentage, two aces, two blocks and six digs. Ugbaja had eight kills and French totaled a game-high 15 digs.
"Our whole team was committed this entire weekend and I can't say enough about how awesome the bench culture was," Huebner added. "The bench was a big part of how well we did and the players coming off the bench stayed ready which helped our team incredibly."
TWU, which finished runner-up in the Lone Star Conference Tournament last year to Tarleton State (6-2), returns to Stephenville for a rematch with the #18 TexAnns to open LSC play on Friday, Sept. 7, at 6 p.m.
