SAN ANGELO, Texas (Nov. 20, 2025) – The Texas Woman's Volleyball team is semifinals bound!    

TWU (19-10, 11-6), the sixth seed in the LSC Championships, defeated the No. 3 seed and No. 17 in the nation West Texas A&M (22-7, 14-3) in the quarterfinal round of the LSC Championships to advance to the semifinals on Friday.

After losing a close first set, 25-23, the Pioneers stormed back and won three straight sets to claim the victory. In the final two sets of action, TWU only allowed the Lady Buffs to score an average of 14.5 points.

It marked the tenth win overall and first in the LSC Championships (in six meetings) against the Lady Buffs. TWU last defeated WT in 2019 during the regular season in Canyon, Texas. Most recently, the Lady Buffs were ranked at No. 17 in the nation and No. 2 in the South Central Regional rankings. It marks the first nationally ranked win for the Pioneers this season and first since their ranked win over DBU last season when the Lady Patriots were ranked No. 22 in the nation.

TWU advances to the LSC Championship Semifinals for the first time since 2019. Prior to this appearance, they have played in the semifinals 12 times in program history.

The Pioneers defense prevailed in the Thursday morning victory, as they held the Lady Buffs to their lowest hitting percentage of the season at .077. TWU also recorded 14 blocks on the day – tying the most by any WT opponent this season. Additionally, it marked the 12th match of the season for the Pioneers with 10 or more blocks.

KEY PLAYERS

• Tori Woods led the Pioneers on offense with 18 kills on .333 hitting percentage. She also added two blocks and nine digs.
• Myracle Stockman joined her with double-digit kills, recording 15. Additionally, she was strong on the block finishing the day with five total.
• Benedite Anuman added 10 kills in the win and hit a team high .471 on the afternoon.
• Leading the blocking category was Jonaida Donowa, who finished the match with eight total.
• Kiana Reed topped the TWU leader board in assists with 29. She also finished with 15 digs to record her 15th double-double of the season. Joining her with a double-double was Lorena Gómez who closed the match with 18 assists and 11 digs – her eighth double of the season.
• Alyssa Rojo led the Pioneers in digs with 18 total – her eighth straight with 15 or more.

PIONEER POWER MOMENTS

• The first set was a tight battle for the Pioneers. After WT scored five straight to take a 19-14 lead, Stockman connected on a kill to ignite five straight points for the Pioneers to tie the set at 19. After a kill by Woods, TWU led 21-20; however, the Lady Buffs flipped the momentum and scored five straight to win set one, 25-21.
• Following the first set, it was all Pioneers. TWU flipped the momentum back to their side, as they opened set two with a 5-1 advantage. The scoring would go back-and-forth for much of the second set, but TWU had an answer for every WT run. The Pioneers were trailing 22-21 and answered with a kill by Stockman to ignite a 3-0 run to bring up set point, 24-22. A kill by Anuman would win the set 25-23 and tie the match at one all.
• The Pioneers kept the strong play rolling in the third and fourth sets. A block by Woods and Donowa opened set three, as TWU would never trail for the remainder of the match. The Pioneers found their longest run in the third set, six points, off a kill by Woods. The run included four attack errors from the Lady Buffs, as the Pioneers pushed their lead to 17-11. TWU kept the scoring going, as a kill by Stockman brought up a 6-1 run, which closed the set for TWU, 25-16, and gave the Pioneers a 2-1 match advantage.
• In set four, TWU had lock down defense, as they only allowed WT to score 13 points in the set. It marked the lowest set score (sets one through four) for the Lady Buffs since a five-set loss to then No. 3 MSU Denver on Sept. 13, 2025.
• The Pioneers really took the commanding lead with a 7-0 run in the middle of the set to go up 17-4. The run included two blocks and two aces for TWU. The Pioneers would end the match with two unanswered points, 25-13, to hand WT the opening round loss, 3-1.

HEAR FROM THE PIONEERS
Head Coach Jessica Ransom and seniors Tori Woods and Kiana Reed after the win: https://youtu.be/w6HYNk_YYu0

NEXT UP

In the semifinals, the Pioneers will face the No. 2 Seed Lubbock Christian at 4 p.m. in San Angelo, Texas. During the regular season, TWU fell to LCU on the road in a tightly-contested five sets.