KINGSVILLE, Texas (Sept. 20, 2024) – Against UT Tyler on Friday afternoon, the Texas Woman's volleyball completed the reverse sweep to go 2-0 at the Conference Crossover.

TWU (6-3) fell down 2-0 against UTT (3-4), before winning the final three sets to claim the victory. It marked the fourth fifth set match of the season for the Pioneers. Their most recent fifth set win coming just last night against Texas A&M – Kingsville.

The Pioneers finished the weekend undefeated and improve to .500 on the season.

IMPACT PLAYERS

• Luna França tied her career high in assists with 11. She also added a team high 17 digs to record her first double-double of the 2024 season.
• Grace Reynolds led the Pioneers with 30 assists and finished with 14 digs to tally her third straight double-double and seventh overall of the season.
• Malia Viernes tied her career high with 16 digs. She added 12 kills in the win to record her second straight double-double of the season.
• Haley Mullaney stepped in to serve for the Pioneers and ended the match with two aces – a career high for the sophomore.
• Erin Jones led the Pioneers in kills with 16 on the night. Kady Hansen finished with 13, Viernes recorded 12 and Cara Pool added 11, as four Pioneers hit the double-digit kill mark in the match.
• Hansen led the Pioneers' defense at the net with three solo blocks and one block assist.

PIONEER POWER MOMENTS

• TWU hit .226 on the match, while the Patriots hit .222.
• In the first set, back-to-back kills by Viernes gave the Pioneers some momentum to bring the score within one, 22-21, as TWU trailed by one point.
• Pool would register the last kill of the set for the Pioneers, 23-22, before the Patriots closed it out with two straight points, 25-22.
• The score was tied 10 times in the second set. TWU had a brief lead, 16-15, after a 3-0 run, which was ignited by a UTT service error. On the match, the Patriots had 10 service errors to the Pioneers' seven service errors. The Pioneers would not lead again in set two.
• Facing a set point loss, 24-21, TWU scored two straight off a kill by Marina Obradovic and an attack error from UT Tyler to bring the score within one, 24-23. However, UTT had the final say and claimed set two, 25-23.
• Down two sets to zero, the Pioneers found a fire and stormed back, recording the reverse sweep. It all started in set three. TWU opened the set by setting the tone, scoring four unanswered points. 
• After a 4-0 lead, TWU fell behind 5-4. Then, TWU took advantage of UTT's mistakes to take a 10-7 lead. They continued to maintain their composure.
• A kill by Jones set up a 4-0 run for TWU to take a 22-16 lead. Then, a kill by Viernes and a kill by Pool set up the first set point of the night for TWU, 24-18. Despite giving up four straight points to the Patriots, TWU regrouped with a timeout and claimed the win in set three, 25-22.
• In the fourth set, the Pioneers battled from behind for the majority of the set. Nevertheless, they never gave up long runs to the Patriots, which allowed them to stay connected. Down by two points, 22-20, three errors by UTT and one kill by Viernes set up set point for TWU, 24-22. Reynolds to Obradovic ended the set, 25-23, in favor of the Pioneers to force a decisive fifth set.
• In a 15-point set five, there were 10 ties in the set, as the score went back-and-forth. Similar to the fourth set, the Pioneers did not allow long runs from the Patriots and limited their mistakes.
• TWU closed set five on a 6-1 run, which was ignited by a service error by the Patriots. Two kills from Viernes and Jones each was also included in the scoring run. An attack error by UTT ended the match and completed the comeback win for TWU, as they won the fifth set, 15-11.

FROM HEAD COACH JESSICA RANSOM

"This was a great weekend for us, as we head into conference matches," Coach Ransom said. "We faced some adversity but showed grit to get through two competitive matches."

UP NEXT

After being on the road this weekend, the Pioneers return home to Kitty Magee Arena next week to start Lone Star Conference action. TWU will host Lubbock Christian on Friday, Sept. 27 at 6 p.m. Then, they will play No. 20 Angelo State on Sat., Sept 28.