CANYON, Texas – The No. 5 Lady Buffs fell in five to Texas A&M International Dustdevils (21-25, 20-25, 26-24, 25-12, 13-15). This is the first loss in five sets for the Lady Buffs since Sept. 22 and their first loss in 14 matches.
HOW IT HAPPENED
The Lady Buffs took a beating in the first and second set by the Dustdevils as they came out swinging and holding onto a lead throughout both sets. The Lady Buffs would tie and occasionally hold a lead before the Dustdevils would go on a long string of point runs. Outside hitter Mia Molina, of the Dustdevils, led in kills with 21 hitting .263 on the match.
Torrey Miller would have one more kill with 22 hitting .317 for the Lady Buffs.
The third set was a fight to the end with four tied scores coming from the last seven points to end the set at 26-24 to the Lady Buffs.
Emma Becker and
Carly Evetts came in with clutch back to back blocks along with a Becker kill to give momentum to WT going into the fourth. The Lady Buffs took a dominating lead in the fourth and held onto it the entire set finishing at 25-12.
The fifth set started slow with the Lady Buffs falling 1-4 before taking their first timeout of the set. The maroon and white would continue to fight by clawing their way back in at 5-6 and going point for point with the Dustdevils. At 11-14, the Lady Buffs would get back to back points to force a Dustdevils timeout. After the pause and a long rally the Dustdevils finished the match with a Molina kill from the outside.
BY THE NUMBERS
Senior
Torrey Miller led in kills for the Lady Buffs with 22 on 60 attempts and 3 errors to hit .317.
Ainsley Malis led the offense with 45 assists and
Emma Patterson held down the back row with 20 digs.
Carly Evetts led with three aces while also leading with five blocks on the night.
MILESTONES
- Dustdevils snap a 14 match winning streak for the Lady Buffs (last loss to DBU on Sept. 22, 2023)
- WT leads the series all-time against the Dustdevils (56-13)
- Ainsley Malis has a career high 45 assists
- Emma Patterson led the Lady Buffs in digs (20) for first time this season, overall 16th time in her career
COMING UP
The Lone Star Conference will announce the LSC Championship host and eight team participants following the conclusion of the last match in regular season conference play tonight.
The Lone Star Conference Championships will be held from Nov. 16-17-18 at the determined schools site revealed later tonight.
