SAN ANGELO, Texas (Sept. 27, 2023) – After jumping out to an early set one win, the Texas Woman's volleyball team fell to Angelo State on Wednesday night in four sets.
 
TWU (10-4, 2-1) dropped their first Lone Star Conference match of the season against ASU (13-2, 3-0) on the road.
 
"We played a tough match against a great team tonight," TWU Volleyball Head coach Jeff Huebner said. "We had a few opportunities to win the second and fourth sets today and played point-for-point through the end. Malia had a great match for our team, and we had really good play from Eduarda all night. We are very excited to be home this weekend against UTPB in KMA!"
 
In the loss, the Pioneers hit .155 on the night. They were led by the efforts of Malia Viernes with a season high 12 kills on .258 hitting to record a season high 12.5 points. It marked Viernes' fourth match of the season with double-digit kills. Cara Pool added eight kills, while Eduarda Dutra finished the night with six.
 
TWU led the stat sheet in blocks over the Rambelles, finishing the night with 10. Dutra, a force at the net, recorded four block assists, while Kady Hansen also contributed to the Pioneers' defense at the net with two solo blocks and two block assists. Kiya Yeoman stepped up in the middle blocker position, finishing the night with one solo block and two block assists.
 
Kiana Reed topped the Pioneer leader board in the assist category. With 20 assists, she recorded her sixth match with 20 or more assists. Kiana Reed also added 10 digs to her stat line against Angelo State, marking her sixth double-double of the season. Also with a double-double, Grace Reynolds finished the night with 11 assists and 10 digs to complete her fourth straight match and seventh match of the season with a double-double.
 
In digs, the Pioneers were led by Dutra with a career high 18 digs. With the double-digit digs, Dutra recorded her fourth straight match with 10 or more digs.
 
TWU brought the energy in set one, matching the Rambelles point-for-point. An attack error by ASU would give the Pioneers the early 9-5 advantage. Then, ASU scored five unanswered points to take a one point lead, 10-9; nevertheless, a deafening kill by Viernes would knot the set back up at 10 each.
 
After tying it up, the Pioneers would go on a five point run of their own with a kill from Kaia Saylor giving TWU the 15-11 advantage. The teams traded points then, until two kills from Viernes and an ace from Dutra set the Pioneers up with the 23-15 lead. A kill by Tori Woods set up set point for TWU, and an ASU service error would end the set in favor of the Pioneers, 25-17.
 
Following the first set, TWU continued to play well, jumping out to a 10-4 lead in set two. Then, a run by the Rambelles would give ASU a late set lead 17-14. A kill by Viernes would reignite the Pioneers and bring them within three, 23-19. Facing set point, 24-19, an ASU attack error would renew life for the Pioneers, 24-20, but a Rambelles kill in response would end set two, 25-20, tying up the match at one set each.
 
In set three, ASU opened with three straight points, before a kill by Pool silenced their scoring; however, the Pioneers were unable to find a solid scoring rhythm in set three as they recorded just eight kills in the set. The Rambelles would take set three 25-13 to take the 2-1 match lead.
 
TWU struck first in set four with a kill by Dutra, which ignited a 4-1 start for the Pioneers. Then, the back-and-forth scoring commenced with no team scoring more than two points in a row. A block by Pool would bookend the points trading affair with the Pioneers ahead by three, 16-13.
 
Following Pool's block, ASU scored five straight points to take the two point advantage, 18-16. A kill by Viernes would tie the score at 18 each, and another Viernes' kill followed by a Yeoman kill put the Pioneers ahead 20-19. The score would then be tied three more times in the closing points of the set, as TWU continued to battle for every point.
 
Facing match point, 24-22, a kill by Pool would keep the Pioneers alive, but an ASU kill answered Pool's to close the match with ASU winning set four, 25-23, and winning the match 3-1.
 
TWU returns home to Kitty Magee Arena for their next match on Saturday, Sept. 30 against UT Permian Basin. The match is set to begin at 2 p.m.