St. Edward's falls to top-ranked squad in four sets
AUSTIN, Texas- The St. Edward's volleyball team fell to #6 West Texas A&M Friday, but managed to take one set from the nationally-ranked team in the four-set loss , 25-18, 19-25, 12-25 and 25-18.
St. Edward's (20-8) has now dropped three of its last four matches to strong opponents after winning 12 straight.
In the first set, West Texas A&M (28-3) held just two leads, and both came very early in the set. The Hilltoppers broke a 6-6 tie and pulled away after going up 15-12 by scoring six straight points. Behind an attack that racked up 17 kills in the set, with five coming from junior Pam Osborn, the Hilltoppers won the first set, 25-18.
In the second set, the Hilltoppers never saw the lead or even a tied score, but battled to within one point late, 18-17. After four straight points from the Lady Buffs, the Hilltoppers scored two of their own. Yet it was to no avail as the Lady Buffs scored three more points to win the set, 25-19. Sophomore Ashley Vander Hey had half of the Hilltoppers' 16 kills in the set.
The Hilltoppers battled back-and-forth for the first four points of the third set, but six-straight points from the Lady Buffs gave West Texas A&M what would become an insurmountable lead. The Hilltoppers dropped the third set, 25-12. The Hilltoppers had as many attack errors as kills in the set with six apiece.
In the fourth set, the Hilltoppers managed to stay with the Lady Buffs and then take a 10-9 lead. But the lead was short-lived as the Lady Buffs forced the Hilltoppers to play catch-up. The Lady Buffs gained a 21-15 lead, and despite the Hilltoppers' efforts to close the deficit, West Texas A&M took the fourth set, 25-18.
The Hilltoppers had 53 kills in the match compared to 58 by the Lady Buffs, but also had 10 more attack errors than West Texas A&M. The Hilltopper attack was led by Vander Hey, who had 16 kills in the match, and Osborn, who had 12. Freshman Ale'tra Ware and sophomore Courtney Trevino each added nine kills in the effort. Senior Allison Ralston set up the attack and recorded 42 assists.
Defensively, the Hilltoppers had 56 digs in the match, which was five more than the Lady Buffs. The defense was led by Trevino, who had 13 digs, and Vander Hey, whose 11 digs provided her with her 19th double-double on the year. Freshman Michelle Hundt also added 11 digs.
For the Lady Buffs, Laura Prinsen came up big with 20 kills. No other Lady Buff had double-digit kills in the match. Stormi Lancaster and Melissa Harper tied for second for the Lady Buffs in kills with eight. In addition, Lauren Thedford dished out 46 assists.
Defensively, the Lady Buffs were led by Lauren Beville, who had 15 digs, and Katie Rickwartz, who had 11 digs. Harper also came up with three blocks in the match.
The Hilltoppers will venture to Stephenville Monday to take on Tarleton State. First serve is set for 7 p.m.