DALLAS, TX- The No. 3 Lady Buffs battled in their opening Lone Star Conference match-up against the Dallas Baptist Patriots but ultimately fell in five (25-21, 23-25, 28-26, 25-27, 12-15). The final from the Burg Center in Dallas, TX lands the Lady Buffs with a 0-1 start in LSC play.
HOW IT HAPPENED
The Lady Buffs started down 1-6 in the first set before coming back to defeat the Patriots 25-21. The Patriots and Lady Buffs went back and forth point for point until 19-19 before the Lady Buffs went on a 7-3 run for the match lead.
The second set was tight throughout with the Patriots eventually taking the set at 23-25. The Lady Buffs put up a fight in the third with both teams reaching 20 points for yet another tie score in the match. The next 14 points would be a fight with seven ties and the Lady Buffs eventually taking the set win (28-26) with an
Ainsley Malis setter dump and
Torrey Miller tool off the block kill to close it out.
The fourth set saw 15 ties total, the most in the match, as the Patriots took this set off the Lady Buffs. The set was tight throughout and at 25-21 the Lady Buffs thought they had finished it but a challenge called and won by the Patriots would prove different as the Patriots came back to win 27-25.
The fifth set saw two ties and a lead for the Patriots in the beginning at 2-5. The Lady Buffs would go on a 4-0 run to make it 6-9 before the Patriots called their first time out of the set. Back-to-back blocks by
Brynne Wright would give the Lady Buffs the momentum to get within four points at 7-11. The Lady Buffs would get within two points before the final time out called the Patriots and the eventual final kill by DBU to finish the match.
BY THE NUMBERS
Sophomore
Emma Becker led in kills with 17 on 37 attempts with only one error (.432%).
Ainsley Malis paced the Lady Buffs with 24 assists and one kill on the night with
Bryli Contreras leading the Lady Buffs in digs (17).
MILESTONES
- This is the first loss for the Lady Buffs against the Patriots. WT still leads the series, 15-1.
- Sophomore Emma Becker led the Lady Buffs in kills and was two kills shy of her standing personal best (19 K).
- This is the fifth match in a row for senior middle blocker, Carly Evetts, to hit a clip over .300 with tonight's match being .333. (15 kills on 30 attempts, 5 errors).
COMING UP
The Lady Buffs will play UT Tyler tomorrow at 2 p.m. at the Herrington Patriot Center in Tyler, TX.
