DENTON, Texas (Oct. 11, 2025) – It was a sweep weekend in Kitty Magee Arena for the Texas Woman's volleyball team.

TWU (11-6, 4-2) recorded two clean sweeps at home on Friday and Saturday. On Friday night, the Pioneers defeated Sul Ross State (2-10, 0-6). Then, they continued the winning trend on Saturday afternoon, sweeping Western New Mexico (8-9, 3-4).

During the match on Friday, TWU celebrated Hispanic Heritage Night, honoring their Pioneers, and they also welcomed middle school volleyball teams for Middle School Night. Then, Saturday's afternoon match was Alumni Day, as the Pioneers welcomed back former Pioneers who laid the foundation for excellence.

The two sweeps marked TWU's fifth and sixth sweeps of the season and increased the Pioneers Lone Star Conference wins to four.

On the weekend, the Pioneers held their opponents to hitting just .125 and scoring an average of 12.6 points per set. TWU hit .292 across the two matches on 88 total kills.

KEY PLAYERS

AGAINST SUL ROSS STATE

• Sydney Garrison finished with 14 kills and hit .478 in the win. The 14 kills matched her career high. She also added one ace, six digs and two block assists.
• Tori Woods joined Garrison with double digit kills, adding 12 in the win and hitting .444. She finished with a season-high tying three aces. Additionally, Woods added 12 digs, marking her second double-double of the season.
• Kiana Reed led the way with 21 assists – her 12th match of the season with 20 or more assists and ninth in a row.
• Alyssa Rojo led the Pioneers in digs with 14. She also added two aces, which marked her sixth match this season with more than one ace.
• Myracle Stockman provided a strong defensive presence for the Pioneers with two block solos. Jonaida Donowa joined Garrison with two block assists.

AGAINST WESTERN NEW MEXICO

• Garrison recorded her eighth match of the season with 10 or more kills. Against the Mustangs, she finished with 10 kills, and she added two block assists and six digs.
• Donowa joined Garrison with double digits, also finishing the match with 10 kills, which matched her season high. On her way to 10 kills, Donowa hit a career high .667. She also added two service aces, which matched her season high.
• Stockman and Woods both added nine kills each in the win.
• The Pioneers two setters both finished with double-digit kills. Reed led with 20 – her 13th match with 20 or more assists and tenth in a row. Lorena Gómez recorded a career high 16 assists in the win. Reed added nine digs, and Gómez finished with eight.
• Woods led TWU from the service line with three total service aces – her second straight match with three aces. Reed, Rojo and Donowa all added two aces each.
• Benedite Anuman led the block protection for the Pioneers with three block assists.
• In digs, Rojo led with 21 – her third match of the season with 20 or more assists.  

PIONEER POWER MOMENTS

AGAINST SUL ROSS STATE

• On the match, the Pioneers hit .320 – their third highest hitting percentage in a match this season. TWU also added six total aces and eight blocks, holding the Lobos to just two aces and one block.
• Through the three sets, TWU did not allow the Lobos to score more than 15 points in a set.
• In set one, the Pioneers took a five-point lead after a block by Donowa and Trinity Blackwood followed by a kill by Stockman increased their lead to 10-5.
• TWU found their largest run of the set just after they scored their 10th point. After two points from the Lobos, a kill by Donowa ignited a 5-0 run. After another kill by Donowa, the Pioneers led 15-7.
• A kill by Woods would bring up set point, and then another kill by Woods would end the set in favor of TWU, 25-15.
• The Pioneers opened set two with three straight points. Reed got the scoring going with a setter's dump. Then, a 3-0 run, which included three straight kills by Garrison, gave TWU a four-point advantage, 8-4.
• SRSU would break a rally by the Pioneers and bring the score to 18-12, but a kill by Woods ignited the Pioneers and the crowd, as TWU mounted a 5-0 run to take a commanding 23-12 lead.
• Two straight kills by Garrison would end the set for the Pioneers, 25-13.
• After a back-and-forth start to set three, TWU led 10-9 following a kill by the Lobos. Then, the Pioneers turned up the heat. A block by Stockman began a 6-0 run for the Pioneers, which put them ahead 16-9. The run also included three aces from Woods.
• TWU would only allow SRSU to score six more points in the set. After an attack error by TWU allowed a score for SRSU, the Pioneers responded and quickly closed the match. A Lobos service error ignited the 3-0 closing run for TWU. Then, a block by Bryanna Stanford brought up match point, and a kill by Woods ended the match, 25-15, to complete the sweep.

AGAINST WESTERN NEW MEXICO

• On the match, the Pioneers hit .270 and held the Mustangs to hitting .169. TWU dominated the service line, finishing the match with 10 aces – their third match of the season with 10 or more aces.
• TWU set the tone from the first serve in set one, opening the match and set with four straight points. Then, a block by Garrison and Anuman would give the Pioneers an early 6-1 lead.
• With the Pioneers leading 15-6 after a block by Stockman, the Mustangs scored three unanswered points. A kill by Donowa ended the run for WNMU and ignited a 4-0 run for the Pioneers to extend their lead to 10, 19-10.
• The scoring at the end of the set would be more back-and-forth scoring, but the Pioneers did not waiver or lose composure. A WNMU service error would bring up set point, and a kill by Blackwood ended the set for the Pioneers, 25-16.
• A 4-0 run to start set two would give TWU an early 5-1 lead. Throughout set two, the score would be tied nine times. The Pioneers found some breathing room after the Mustangs tied it up at 19. A kill by Donowa, a kill by Stockman and another kill by Donowa gave TWU the 22-19 lead.
• A block by Stockman and Anuman would bring up set point, and a kill by Garrison ended the set for the Pioneers 25-22.
• The Pioneers once again started off strong in set three. A kill by Donowa to start the set opened up a 7-0 run for TWU. Neither team would string together long runs after the opening; nevertheless, the Pioneers would continue to break the scoring of WNMU to keep control of the lead.
• Back-to-back kills by Woods would increase TWU's lead to 21-16. Then, another kill by Woods would bring up match point, and an ace by Reed would seal the win, 25-18.

HEAR FROM HEAD COACH JESSICA RANSOM

Jessica Ransom shares her thoughts after the win over Sul Ross State: https://youtu.be/xbeYBb5n8BA.

"I'm proud of our consistency through the weekend. We executed specific things we've been working on in practice, so it's always nice to see the focus pay off. It was a fun weekend at home with a big crowd for family weekend and alumni day!"

NEXT UP

After two matches at home, the Pioneers head on the road for their next two LSC matches. On Friday, Oct. 17, TWU will play St. Edward's at 6 p.m. in Austin, Texas. Then, they will travel to San Antonio, Texas on Saturday, Oct. 18 to face St. Mary's.