IRVINE, Calif. (Sept. 6, 2025) – On Saturday, the Texas Woman's volleyball team competed in the Golden Eagle Classic hosted by Concordia University Irvine. In their final day in California, the Pioneers went 1-1.

TWU (2-2) started off the day with a win over Vanguard in four sets. Then, they closed their opening weekend with a loss to the host CUI.

Yesterday, the Pioneers played in the Azusa Pacific Tournament. After the conclusion of the tournament, Alyssa Rojo was named to the APU All-Tournament Team. In the two matches at APU, she finished with 34 digs, 6 assists and 4 aces.

The Pioneers will return home with a .500 record as they prepare to host their home opening volleyball tournament, Denton Volleyfest, on Sept. 12-13.

KEY PLAYERS
GAME ONE VS. VANGUARD

• Sydney Garrison and Myracle Stockman both led the Pioneers with 14 kills, which marked a career high for Garrison. Garrison also added nine digs, and Stockman finished with six.
• Cat Millsap also recorded a career high, closing the win with 14 assists and six digs.
• Kiana Reed led TWU with 22 assists. She added 12 digs to record her second double-double of the season.
• Rojo topped the Pioneers leader board with 18 digs. Lorena Gómez also finished with double-digit digs to join Rojo and Millsap.
• Jonaida Donowa led TWU in blocks, closing the win with six total block assists.

GAME TWO VS. CUI

• Garrison led the Pioneers with seven kills. She added eight digs, one ace and one block assist to her stat line.
• Reed dished out double-digit assists against CUI, closing the match with 14. She also connected on three aces and recorded four digs.
• Kenn Jean-Louis and Trinity Blackwood both led TWU with three block assists.
• Rojo closed with double-digit digs, ending the match with 18.

KEY MOMENTS
GAME ONE VS. VANGUARD

• To start the match against Vanguard, the Pioneers struggled to gain momentum, as Vanguard opened the match with an 11-1 run. Unable to ever find their rhythm, TWU fell in set one, 25-13.
• After the set one loss, the Pioneers regrouped and flipped the script to win three straight sets.
• TWU would never trail in set two. An ace by Reed opened the match. They would take a four-point lead off a Donowa kill.
• Ahead 23-18, the Lions would mount a 4-0 run, but the Pioneers quickly stifled their run with two straight points to close the set with the win. A kill by Stockman gave TWU the win, 25-22.
• Despite a 4-0 start for Vanguard in set three, TWU fought back to take the one-point lead, 8-7, after a 3-0 run by TWU, which was included a kill by Stockman, a kill by Lyida and a block by Lydia.
• Scoring would go back-and-forth, until the Pioneers caught fire to score five unanswered points after trailing by one, 11-10, and took the 15-11 lead. However, Vanguard gained momentum and scored six straight points to go ahead 17-15.
• Set three came down to the strong close by TWU. The Pioneers outscored the Lions 9-3 in the final moments of the set. Back-to-back attack errors by Vanguard closed the set, 26-24, leading TWU to the match lead 2-1.
• Looking to close out the match in set four, the lead shifted between the two teams early on. After trailing by three, 19-16, the Pioneers responded with three straight points to tie it up at 19. After one kill by Vanguard, TWU continued the scoring with four straight to lead 23-20. Then, a kill by Blackwood and a bad set by the Lions resulted in the set win for TWU, 25-21, and the match win 3-1.

GAME TWO VS. CUI

• Against the Golden Eagles, the Pioneers were strong on the block, matching CUI's seven blocks. Serve-receive proved to be a difference maker for the Golden Eagles, as they connected on 12 aces to TWU's seven.
• In the first set, both teams hit 0.
• The Pioneers fell in the first two sets by just two points, 26-24 and 25-23, before losing set three 25-15.
• In set one, TWU scored four straight to open the match. Despite several long runs throughout the early part of the set for CUI, TWU answered with five unanswered points late in the set to go head 18-14.
• A block by Blackwood and Jean-Louis would put TWU in a good position, as they led by three 23-20. However, CUI closed the set outscoring the Pioneers 6-1 to win the set 26-24.
• Set two was a similar story to set one, as the teams traded long scoring runs. Late in the set after scoring four unanswered points, TWU led 21-19. Once again CUI closed the set well, scoring six points to the Pioneers' two to win, 25-23.
• The Pioneers struggled to find a rhythm and build runs in the third set, falling 25-15.

NEXT UP

TWU returns home for the Denton Volleyfest on Sept. 12 and 13. They will play two matches each day, facing Arkansas Monticello, UT Tyler, Arkansas Tech and Southern New Hampshire.