DENTON, Texas (Sept. 9, 2023) – Saturday was an undefeated day in Kitty Magee Arena for the Texas Woman's volleyball team, as the Pioneers closed the Denton Volleyfest Tournament with two wins on Saturday.

TWU (5-3) defeated Augustana (3-5) in five sets at 11:30 a.m. and then closed the day with a three set sweep of Arkansas Monticello (0-9) at 4:30 p.m.

The first match came early on Saturday for the Pioneers against Augustana, and TWU took two sets to fully wake up, but once the Pioneers locked in, they charged ahead with a fury.

The Vikings took set one 25-15. Then, TWU opened set two with a 5-0 run, which included a kill from Tori Woods, two aces from Kiana Reed and two blocks from Kady Hansen and Kaia Saylor. Augustana climbed back and tied the score at six each. Two ties later and the Vikings mounted a 4-0 run to take a 12-8 advantage. In set two, the Pioneers would not lead again. They came within one point multiple times late in the set but could not overcome the deficit, falling in set two 25-20.

Facing a must-win third set, the Pioneers charged ahead with a 6-0 opening set run. TWU continued to open up their lead. A kill by Eduarda Dutra increased the Pioneers' advantage to six, 12-6. TWU would never trail in set three, allowing the Vikings to score just 16 points.

A kill by Hansen and an attack error from Augustana would give the Pioneers the set three win, 25-16.  

With one set win on their side, the Pioneers knew they had to just focus on winning each point. Their focus led them to a dominating open to the fourth set, owning a 12-point advantage, 15-3.

The Vikings would score just eight more points in the set, as TWU went 5-0 to close the set. An ace by Tori Woods caused miscommunication among Augustana and led the Pioneers to their second straight set win, 25-11.

For the second match in a row and third time all season, the Pioneers played a fifth set. Despite their low-scoring fourth set, the Vikings jumped out to a 5-3 lead in the fifth. A kill by Kaia Saylor tied the set at six, but the Pioneers did not find the lead until late in the set. Despite trailing for most of the set, the Pioneers dug deep and found a way to respond.

Trailing 12-11, a massive kill by Hansen set off a 3-0 run with kills from Saylor and Cara Pool to find their first lead of the set, 14-12, since 2-1. With match point on the line, TWU allowed Augustana to score two more points, tying the set at 14.

With the set tied, the Pioneers fought for the final two points. A kill from Dutra off an assist from Luna França brought the crowd to their feet. Facing match point once again, the Vikings made an attack error, eliciting an exhilarating reaction from the Pioneers as they closed the match, 16-14.

On the 2023 season, TWU is 2-1 in fifth set matches.

In their final match of the Denton Volleyfest, TWU recorded their first sweep in Kitty Magee Arena of the 2023 season against Arkansas Monticello. The Pioneers hit .404 across three sets with 47 kills in the match.
Pool led the Pioneers in the final match with a career high 16 kills in the match and three blocks. Grace Reynolds assisted on 22 kills and França added 10 digs in the win.

In set one, TWU defeated UAM 25-20. A detonating kill by Pool, followed by the exclamation point from Saylor led the Pioneers to the win.

Much like set one, the Blossoms opened set two with the first points of the set, but the Pioneers quickly settled in, going on a 7-0 run to take the two point advantage, 11-9. The Blossoms responded and reclaimed the lead 15-12, but the Pioneers would allow UAM to score just two more points in the set.

TWU closed set two with a 13-2 run to raise the energy in KMA and win set two 25-17.

Set three was all TWU, as the Pioneers never trailed in the set. They allowed the Blossoms to score just 16 points.

Malia Viernes and Marina Obradovic attributed to the successful offense for the Pioneers in the closing set, each recording two kills in set three. Pool continued to dominate in the final set, hitting nine kills to lead the Pioneers to victory.

Overall in the Denton Volleyfest, the Pioneers went 3-1.

At the conclusion of the Denton Volleyfest, five Pioneers were named to the All-Tournament Team: Tori Woods, Kaia Saylor, Kady Hansen, Kiana Reed and Cara Pool. Across their four matches, Woods led the Pioneers with 45 kills and added six aces, 46 digs, 52.5 points and hit .209. Saylor, also a Pioneer outside hitter, finished the weekend with 44 kills and hit .292 over the four matches. She added 16 digs, eight total blocks for 48.0 overall points. In the middle, Hansen and Pool dominated. Hansen hit .313 on the weekend with 43 kills, along with 17 total blocks for 53.5 total points. With 31 kills, Pool was the most efficient attacker for the Pioneers on the weekend, hitting .458 over the four matches. She also added six blocks for a total of 34 points. Kiana Reed topped the Pioneers' leader board with 86 total assists on the weekend for 219 total attacks and a .393 hitting percentage. Kiana Reed also led TWU with seven aces over the four matches.

Hear from TWU Head Coach Jeff Huebner following the Pioneers final day of the Denton Volleyfest: https://youtu.be/IZGPol83wao.