West Texas A&M University Athletics

CANYON, Texas – The #19 Lady Buffs of West Texas A&M split Friday's action to open the season during the 2026 BritKare Lady Buff Classic at the WTAMU Fieldhouse "The Box" in Canyon. WT claimed a straight set sweep over Tuskegee before falling to Wisconsin-Parkside in a five-set thriller in the nightcap.
 
The Lady Buffs return to the court on Saturday with matchups against Adams State (11:00 a.m.) and Oklahoma Baptist (6:00 p.m.), the Bison are receiving votes in the AVCA Division II Preseason Poll and claimed a pair of wins on Friday.
 
West Texas A&M 3, Tuskegee 0
WT registered 12 services aces on their way to a dominating sweep (25-5, 25-10, 25-17) over the Tuskegee Golden Tigers.
 
The Lady Buff offense exploded, tallying 37 kills while their defense added two blocks and three opponent‑service errors. Tuskegee managed 12 kills and two aces but struggled with a negative attack efficiency (‑0.058) and 16 attack errors.
 
Anna Ruter led the way offensively for the Lady Buffs as the senior transfer finished with nine kills on 12 swings with just one error for an attack percentage of .667. Tatum Busch added seven kills followed by Kaycee Cavanaugh with six and Caty Havekost with five. Casey Loewer dished out a team-best 18 assists along with four kills and four service aces. Avery Ramos led the way in the back row as the Bushland product had nine digs, three assists and an ace.
 
Parkside 3, West Texas A&M 2
The Lady Buffs battled back-and-forth in Friday's nightcap before falling to the Parkside Rangers in a five-set thriller (22-25, 25-19, 28-26, 22-25, 6-15) at The Box.
 
WT finished the match with 55 kills on 182 swings with 30 attack errors to hit .137 as a team while the Rangers had 73 kills on 203 swings for an attack percentage of .192. The Lady Buffs had five service aces and 10 blocks while Parkside held the advantage in the back row with 86 digs.
 
Busch led the way for the Lady Buffs as the Deer Park, Texas product had 15 kills on 40 swings with three errors to hit .300 along with eight digs. Cavanaugh had 11 kills followed by Loewer with 10 as the sophomore dished out 25 assists for a double-double. Ramos paced the Lady Buff in the back row with a team-best 22 digs followed by Cavanaugh with 15 for a double-double of her own.