DENTON, Texas (Sept. 14, 2025) – It was a sweep, sweep weekend in Kitty Magee Arena for the Texas Woman's volleyball team at the 2025 Denton Volleyfest.

TWU (6-2) played four matches over the Volleyfest on Friday and Saturday. Not only did the Pioneers claim four wins – they swept all four opponents they faced.

On Friday, TWU faced the Arkansas-Monticello and UT Tyler. Then, on Saturday, the Pioneers claimed the wins over Arkansas Tech and Southern New Hampshire.

Following the conclusion of the tournament, Sydney Garrison was named to the 2025 Denton Volleyfest All-Tournament Team. Garrison, across the four matches, recorded 33 kills, seven aces, 42 digs, one block and averaged hitting .262.

TWU will be back in action on Tuesday, Sept. 16 on the road against current No. 4 in the nation Central Oklahoma.

KEY PLAYERS

• Garrison led the Pioneers on the weekend with 33 total kills. Tori Woods added 27 kills across the four matches, hitting .375. Myracle Stockman recorded 25 kills on the weekend and hit .385. Miriam Williams added 18 kills for TWU and averaged .692.
• Kiana Reed dished out the most assists during the Volleyfest with 80 total, and she averaged 7.27 per set. Cat Millsap was second on the team in assists, adding 50 total. Millsap also topped the team leaderboard in aces with 10.
• The Pioneers finished with 26 total blocks on the weekend. Trinity Blackwood led with eight total blocks. Kenn Jean-Louis added seven, while Bryanna Stanford and Jonaida Donowa both finished with six.
• Alyssa Rojo averaged 6.09 digs per set to lead TWU with 67 total digs.
• Garrison recorded a career high 14 digs in the Pioneers' win over UT Tyler on Friday.
• In the Pioneers' fourth win of the weekend over Southern New Hampshire, seven Pioneers recorded career highs: Williams – 12 kills and .750 hitting percentage, Stanford - five blocks, six kills and .556 hitting percentage, Bird Moffitt - one assist, one ace and five digs, Kaia Lydia - three blocks, Gracie Erichsen - four digs and one ace, Donowa - .500 hitting percentage, Benedite Anuman - three blocks.

KEY MOMENTS
MATCH 1 AGAINST ARKANSAS-MONTICELLO

• The Pioneers held the Blossoms to hitting just .034 on the match, while TWU hit .250.
• In the sweep, TWU had eight aces and seven blocks.
• TWU never let UAM score more than 19 points in a set on their way to the sweep.
• In set one, the Pioneers pulled away late in the set on an 8-0 scoring run to close out the set. Jean-Louis started the run with a kill, 18-12, and a kill by Blackwood closed the set, 25-12 for the Pioneers.
• Set two would prove to be slightly closer down the stretch, 21-19. Ahead by two, TWU quickly turned up the heat and closed the set with four straight points. A block by Donowa and Stockman started the run, and a kill by Donowa ended the set for TWU, 25-19.
• The set three difference maker would be a long run in the middle of the set. After a service error by the Blossoms, TWU would ignite an 8-0 run to take a 10-point advantage, 20-10. Millsap would connect on back-to-back aces to bring up match point. Then, a kill by Lydia would end the match, 3-0 for TWU, after a 25-13 set three victory.

MATCH 2 AGAINST UT TYLER

• In the LSC Preseason Poll, UT Tyler was picked to finish third in the conference, and TWU was picked to finish fifth. In their nonconference meeting on Friday afternoon, the Pioneers made a statement by defeating the Patriots in three straight sets.
• The Pioneers held UTT to hitting .171, and the Pioneers hit .327. TWU posted eight aces and five blocks. Overall, they held the Patriots to just 37 total points.
• In set one, TWU put some distance on the scoreboard with five straight points, which included two aces by Rojo to give TWU the 16-13 advantage. The Pioneers would reach 20 points first. Nevertheless, the Patriots would draw within three, 22-19, but TWU kept pushing and ended the set with three straight points to claim the set one win, 25-19.
• The Pioneers held UTT to just 15 points in set two. They posted two long runs to lead them to the win. A 6-0 run, ignited by a kill by Garrison, gave TWU the 14-8 lead. Then, the Pioneers would score seven unanswered points, started by a kill by Jean-Louis, to go up by 10, 23-13. A kill by Tori Woods and then Blackwood end the set for TWU, 25-15.
• TWU kept the momentum high and continued the strong scoring in set three. Once again, in the middle of the set, the Pioneers went on a 6-0 run to go up by two, 11-9, and take the momentum. The scoring would go back-and-forth for a bit; however, TWU remained focused and never let up. Leading by three, 23-20, the Pioneers scored two quick to end a 3-0 scoring run for the Patriots and win the set, 25-20.

MATCH 3 AGAINST ARKANSAS TECH

• The Pioneers continued their sweep streak on Saturday morning against the Golden Suns, holding ATU to hitting .167. TWU posted nine aces and six blocks.
• TWU quickly opened a 5-1 lead after a kill by Garrison. Arkansas Tech would tie it up twice early on at 7-7 and 9-9, but the Pioneers pressed and distanced themselves from the Golden Suns. Late in the set, TWU would have two 4-0 runs to go up 22-14. Despite those being the last scoring runs for the Pioneers, they infiltrated the small runs of the Golden Suns to maintain the lead and win the set. A kill by Donowa would close set one for TWU, 25-22.
• The difference in set two proved to be TWU scoring nine unanswered points to increase their lead to 21-8. A kill by Donowa ignited the run, which included two aces by Rojo. After their long run, the Pioneers would only allow ATU to score three more points, as the Pioneers scored three more quickly, which included two service errors by Arkansas Tech, to win the set, 25-12.
• In set three, the Pioneers would not have longer than a three point scoring run. They kept the energy high and also limited the runs of the Golden Suns to close out set three for another sweep. Back-to-back kills by Stockman won the set, 25-18, and closed the match for TWU.

MATCH 4 AGAINST SOUTHERN NEW HAMPSHIRE

• The final match of the Denton Volleyfest for the Pioneers was a dominant performance over the Penmen. Across the three sets, TWU would only allow SNHU to score 16 total points. The Pioneers posted 10 aces and eight blocks and hit a season-high .485. They limited the Penmen to hitting -.143.
• In set one, the longest run for the Pioneers was a 10-0 run, as TWU took a 20-3 lead off the serves of Cat Millsap. A service error by SNHU followed by a kill by Garrison would end set one for TWU, 25-7.
• In set two, TWU held the Penmen to just four points. The Pioneers scored 16 straight with freshman Erichsen serving. A 5-0 run would end the set for TWU, as an ace from Williams closed the set, 25-4.
• In set three, TWU would score eight unanswered points to go up 13-4. A kill by Lydia followed by a block from Lydia and Anuman would end the set for TWU, 25-12, and lead the Pioneers to their fourth straight win and fourth straight sweep of the season.

HEAR FROM HEAD COACH JESSICA RANSOM

"This was a great home opening weekend for us. We were able to work through several different lineups and all of our new program members got home court playing experience. We saw a lot of good things and also learned what we have to clean up moving forward. Overall, it was a fun weekend, and now we prepare for a busy week ahead."

NEXT UP

The Pioneers go on the road for their next nonconference match against No. 4 Central Oklahoma on Tuesday, Sept. 16 at 6 p.m. in Edmond, Okla. Following their road match, TWU returns home for the Conference Challenge, beginning Sept. 18 against St. Mary's.