DENTON, Texas (Nov. 9, 2024) – The Texas Woman's volleyball team celebrated eight seniors in Kitty Magee Arena on Saturday afternoon.

Clayre Pullin, Jessica Freehill, Lizzy Reed, Cara Pool, Marina Obradovic, Erin Jones, Luna França and Malia Viernes were honored following the match against Midwestern State, as they played their final match in Kitty Magee Arena.

On Saturday, TWU (18-7, 11-3) fell to MSU (14-13, 6-8) in four sets to close their regular season home schedule.

The Pioneers won the third set, but they were unable to force a set five, as they dropped their second straight match at home.

With the loss, TWU fell to 11-3 in Lone Star Conference action. They are currently still fourth place, as they have the head-to-head tiebreaker over Dallas Baptist.

IMPACT PLAYERS

• Viernes led the Pioneers on offense with a career high 18 kills. She also added eight digs on the afternoon.
• Jones finished senior day with 13 kills and a career high six block assists.
• Myracle Stockman also closed the match with double-digit kills, ending the afternoon with 12 kills. Additionally, she recorded four digs.
• Grace Reynolds led the Pioneers in assists with 36 on the day. She recorded her 16th double-double of the season, after adding 18 digs to her stat line.
• Kiana Reed dished out 13 assists and finished with 11 digs to record her sixth double-double of the season.
• Obradovic closed senior day with a career high 21 digs.
• Lizzy Reed finished the match with a season high nine digs and four assists.
• At the net, Pool finished with five block assists, and Kady Hansen added a season high five total blocks.

IMPACT MOMENTS

• TWU recorded 10 blocks in the win, recording their fifth match this season with double-digit total blocks.
• Points (71), digs (92) and assists (55) were perfectly even between the two teams.
• The Pioneers hit .204 on the afternoon, while the Mustangs hit .213.
• In the first set, with the scored tied at eight, MSU mounted a 5-0 run to take a 13-8 lead.
• The score went back-and-forth until a block by Hansen ignited a 4-0 run for TWU to tie the set at 18.
• TWU would once again tie the set at 23 after a bad set by the Mustangs; nevertheless, the Pioneers struggled to close the set, as MSU scored two straight to win the first set, 25-23.
• Set two saw the score tied 16 times, as each team battled for the advantage. The difference came late in the set. After a kill by Pool, the Pioneers led 22-21. MSU responded with three straight points to lead, 24-22. A kill by Jones would hold off the Mustangs momentarily, 24-23, but a kill from MSU ended set two in the Mustangs favor, 25-23.
• In a must win set three, the Pioneers jumped out to an early 5-1 lead.
• Late in the set, after a block by Hansen and Jones, TWU held on to a five-point lead, 16-11. MSU responded by scoring six straight to take a 17-16 advantage.
• The score would go back-and-forth with the Mustangs holding the lead, 23-22. The Pioneers found energy and closed set three with three straight points to win the set, 25-23.
• Back-to-back kills from Jones gave TWU a 6-3 lead early in set four.
• A kill by Viernes put TWU ahead by three again, 11-8, but the Pioneers gave up four straight points to MSU to allow the Mustangs to take the one point lead, 12-11.
• TWU would continue to struggle to string together points, as MSU scored seven unanswered points to lead 21-13.
• The Pioneers would battle back to come within four, 24-20, but were unable to go on a scoring run as the Mustangs closed the match, 25-20.

NEXT UP

The Pioneers will go on the road to close out the regular season next week. TWU will travel to Eastern New Mexico for a match on Friday, Nov. 15. Then, they will meet top-seed West Texas A&M on Saturday, Nov. 16.