DENTON, Texas (Oct. 25, 2023) – Hitting .299 on the night, the Texas Woman's volleyball team defeated Midwestern State in four sets in their Dig Pink Match on Wednesday. 

TWU (15-7, 7-4) wore pink jerseys tonight and decorated the gym in pink to raise awareness for Breast Cancer and for their loved ones who have battled Breast Cancer. Additionally, the Pioneers also auctioned last season's pink jerseys to raise money for TWU Student Health Services Pink Promises project, which provides monetary assistance to TWU students for breast health medical care.  

The Pioneers defeated MSU (4-19, 1-10) in Kitty Magee Arena in front of an exciting home crowd. Tonight marked the Pioneers' 42nd win against the Mustangs and 24th in KMA. TWU currently ranks seventh in the Lone Star Conference. 

"Today was a great job by our team of finding our rhythm," TWU Volleyball Head Coach Jeff Huebner said. "For the majority of the night, we executed great offense and really worked in serve receive and from the service line. Luna was fantastic all match, controlling what seemed like every opportunity she could while Kiana and Grace did a good job of working the middle/right side combinations in the way that makes us unique. We always love a great home crowd and love the energy added by Pioneer Pride and THE Pioneer Pep Band with all their new gear."

In the match, TWU recorded 63 kills, and their offensive attack was led by the efforts of Kaia Saylor, Kady Hansen, Malia Viernes and Cara Pool, who all finished with double digit kills for the Pioneers. Saylor topped the Pioneer leaderboard with 18 kills, her fourth time this season with 15 or more kills in a match. On 18 kills, Saylor hit a career high .581. Hansen, who currently ranks fourth in the LSC in hitting percentage, finished the night with 13 kills. Hansen hit .400 on the night and currently averages .358 on the season. Joining Hansen with 13 kills was Viernes, whose 13 kills on .409 hitting marked a season high. The current leader in hitting percentage in the LSC Pool rounded out the double digit kills stat link for TWU, as Pool recorded 12 kills and hit .476. Pool currently averages .387 to lead the LSC. 

TWU's offense tonight continued to show why the Pioneers are ranked second in the LSC in kills, averaging 13.82 per season. 

Nevertheless, the success of the offense could not be possible without the success of the TWU setters. In tandem with their kills ranking, the Pioneers also rank second in assists in the LSC, averaging 12.92 per set. 

Tonight against the Mustangs, the pair of Kiana Reed and Grace Reynolds set the Pioneer attackers up for greatness. Kiana Reed led the way in assists with 28 total, and Reynolds added 25 in the win. Reynolds also added eight digs to the Pioneers' stat line. 

On the night, TWU finished with 61 digs, as three Pioneers recorded double digit digs. Luna França led the charge for TWU with 19 digs, marking her 14th time this season with 15 or more digs in match. França also led the Pioneers to a successful serve receive performance tonight with 28 receptions and only one error – tabbing a .964 reception percentage.
Tori Woods joined the double digit dig party with 16 on the night – her 11th match with double digit digs. Getting her first starting nod tonight was Marina Obradovic, who finished with a season high 10 digs.

The Pioneers, who also rank second in the LSC in service aces (1.86 per set), won the ace category with six to the Mustangs' three. Lizzy Reed and Woods both led with two aces each. 

On defense, the Pioneers recorded six blocks, and Hansen led with three block assists. Woods added two block assists, and Obradovic also finished with two – marking a season high. TWU held MSU to hitting just .188 with 41 kills, marking the 11th time this season the Pioneers have held their opponent to hitting under .200. 

After losing their last two matches in KMA, the Pioneers regained their rhythm and came out with some passionate energy in set one. TWU did not waste any time establishing the lead, jumping out to a quick 9-3 advantage off a Saylor kill. A monster block by Hansen and Viernes would extend the Pioneers' lead to seven, 12-5. TWU would find their largest lead of the third set, after going on a 3-0 run, and a Hansen kill would put the Pioneers up by 12, 22-10. The Mustangs would score four unanswered points late, but it would not change the winning rhythm of the Pioneers. An electrifying kill by Viernes from Kiana Reed would set up set point for TWU, 24-14. After two points scored by MSU, a Hansen kill sealed the TWU set one victory, 25-16. 

While set two was more back-and-forth scoring, the winning energy continued to course through the Pioneers. After the score had been tied seven different times, a service ace by Woods would put the Pioneers ahead 11-10. However, the tied scoring commenced again, as it would be tied six more times, before the Pioneers jumped out to a 20-19 lead off a bad set by the Mustangs. Then, a 3-0 run, resulted in set point for TWU, after a monster block by Hansen and Obradovic. A Viernes' kill would give the Pioneers the set two victory, 25-21, and the 2-0 match advantage. 

In set three, the Mustangs managed to jump out to some early runs to establish a lead, but TWU kept battling. Late in the set, back-to-back kills by Hansen followed by a Mustang's bad set would tie the set at 19-19. Three unanswered MSU points would push the Pioneers' deficit back to three, 22-19. TWU would score two more points to try to thwart the Mustangs and complete the sweep but were unable to string together a run, dropping set three, 25-21. 

With the match score at 2-1, the Pioneers returned to set four with a vengeance, opening the set on a 3-0 run. TWU would continue to push their lead, after back-to-back kills by Viernes gave TWU the 11-5 advantage. An ace by Lizzy Reed would extend the lead again to 13-5 in favor of the Pioneers. TWU would continue to stifle the scoring of MSU, as an ace by Lizzy Reed set up match point for the Pioneers, 24-14, and a crowd-roaring Viernes' kill would end set four, 25-15, and give TWU the match victory 3-1. 

Malia Viernes and Kiana Reed share their thoughts about the Pioneers win in a post match interview: https://youtu.be/wyJak2OWg_4. 

The Pioneers will go on the road for their next match, as they face Western New Mexico on Saturday, Oct. 28 at 1 p.m. CST.