CANYON, Texas. (Oct. 14, 2023) - After a competitive opening to the match, the Texas Woman's volleyball team fell to West Texas A&M on Saturday in three sets.

TWU (14-5, 6-2) dropped their first Lone Star Conference match of October to WT (17-2, 7-1) on the road.

"Some learning to do from today's match," TWU Volleyball Head Coach Jeff Huebner said. "We see where we are when we love the competition experience like the first set and we see what can happen if we spend too much time working on perfection like the second two sets. Our team has been excellent at live learning all year, and we are looking forward to our opportunities this weekend at KMA!"

The Pioneers hit .179 on the day and posted 41 kills. Despite the loss, Kaia Saylor and Tori Woods finished with 12 kills each. The match against WT marked the ninth game Woods had 10 or more kills this season and the seventh for Saylor. Saylor added two blocks as well. Kady Hansen and Malia Viernes contributed five kills apiece, respectively. 

Grace Reynolds led the Pioneers in the assist category with 18 assists. Reynolds also added six digs and an ace. Kiana Reed finished with 12 assists and seven digs against the Lady Buffs. Woods led TWU in digs with eight on the day. 

Set one of this matchup was full of fireworks and did not disappoint. TWU brought the game to the defending champions and took a quick 8-4 lead. The two teams competed back and forth as as the set became locked at 20-20. The Lady Buffs battled from behind most of the set and came out on top 29-27 to take set one.

There were a total of 12 ties and five lead changes in set one.

WT used the momentum built from the first set victory to establish a strong 11-5 start in set two. TWU battled their way back to cut it within three, 13-10, but the Lady Buffs made a series of runs and played sound defense to close the second set 25-15.

The Pioneers came out with the same intensity in set three as set one, and an ace by Reynolds gave TWU an early 5-4 lead. WT responded with a quick run that sparked the momentum needed to outscore TWU and finished the third set 25-13.

The Pioneers are back in KMA next Friday, Oct. 20, when they take on UT Tyler at 6 p.m.

-PIONEERS-