West Texas A&M University Athletics

Match 1 - #3 Abilene Christian vs. #6 Cameron

No. three-seeded Abilene Christian trailed by as many as six points (5-11) in the fifth and final set against No. six-seeded Cameron, but the Wildcats stormed back to take the set 19-17 and move onto the next round in the Lone Star Conference Volleyball Championships at “The Box” in Canyon, Texas, on Thursday.

The Wildcats dropped the first set 25-20 to the Aggies and then trailed 24-22 in the second set before recording the next four points to win 26-24 and tie the match at 1-1. ACU went onto defeat the Aggies 25-16 in the third set, but Cameron would come back to tie the set 2-2 following a 25-18 win the fourth set.

The Aggies led 11-5 late in the decisive fifth set, but ACU went on a 9-3 run to tie the match 14-14. Cameron went up match-point on the Wildcats 15-14 and then again 16-15 before an attack error from the Aggies tied the match 16-16. Another attack error gave the Wildcats the lead 17-16, but Cameron’s Kelle Carver tied the match back up at 17-17 with her kill. A kill form ACU’s Aubrie Vick gave the Wildcats match-point at 18-17 and then Cameron followed with an attack error, giving the Wildcats the win in come-from-behind fashion.

Carver led the Aggies with 18 kills and setter Jenna Risoli tallied 53 assists for Cameron. Julisa Ocasio led the team with a match-high 26 digs. And Filly Ezenwa collected five total blocks in the match.

ACU had four players with double-digit kills and were led by Jennie Hutts 16 kills on the day. Haley Rhoads led the team with a match-high 59 assists and Kelsie Edwards led the squad with 19 digs. Neely Borger tallied a match-high nine total blocks as well.

Cameron closes out the 2011 season with a 15-15 overall record and ACU improved to 21-12. The Wildcats will play the winner of Angelo State and Midwestern State in the semifinals which is set to begin Friday at 5 p.m.

Match 2 - #2 Angelo State vs. #7 Midwestern State

No. two-seeded Angelo State took care of the No. seven-seed Midwestern State Mustangs in straight sets on Thursday afternoon at the Lone Star Conference Tournament Quarterfinals at The Box in Canyon, Texas 25-18, 25-16, 25-14 to advance to tomorrow night’s Semifinal match against Abilene Christian who topped Cameron in a five set thriller in the first match of the day.

The Belles won the first set by a score of 25-18 after an impressive 8-0 run in the middle of the set, Midwestern hit .200 compared to the Belles .175 in the opening set.

Set number two saw Angelo dominate offensively to hit .237 while the Mustangs struggled to overcome an early lead to hit .111 and drop the set 25-16.

The third set saw the potent Angelo offense explode to hit .387 compared to MSU’s .148, the Belles took the third set 25-14 and the match in straight sets.

Kaelen Valdez led all players offensively with 13 kills followed by teammate Maddie Huth with nine. The Belles hit .257 as a team with 39 assists and 38 digs, Alex Woosley dished out 36 assists with nine digs.

MSU’s Hillary White tallied 11 kills while teammate Shelbi Stewart had eight, Kristan Aduddell dished out 18 assists with LSC Libero of the Year Kiara Jordan registering a match high 17 digs.

Midwestern State closes out the 2011 season with a 15-16 overall record and ASU improved to 29-4. The Belles advance to play the Wildcats of Abilene Christian tomorrow night at 5 p.m. at The Box.

Match 3 - #4 Tarleton State vs. #5 Texas Woman's

No. 4-seeded Tarleton State trailed 22-17 late in the fourth set before coming back to down the No. 5-seeded Texas Woman’s Pioneers 25-23 and take the match 3-1 (25-16, 25-10, 20-25, 25-23) in the third match of the 2011 Lone Star Conference Volleyball Championships at “The Box” in Canyon, Texas, on Thursday.

The TexAnns were in complete control in the first two matches combing to hit over .300 percent, but were then slowed down by the TWU defense in the third set and hit just .079 percent.

Tarleton opened the fourth set with an early 5-2 lead on a kill from Stacie Murrah, but TWU came back to tie the match 6-6 on a block assist from Erin Harman and Chloe’ Tate. The Pioneers continued to lead throughout the majority of the match and took a 22-17 lead on a kill from co-LSC Offensive Player of the Year, Viktorija Jablonska.

The TexAnns would not go away though, scoring the next seven points to take a 24-22 lead and then finally closed out the match on a kill from Katie Covell to take the set and the match.

TWU’s Jablonska led the team with a match-high 20 kills and Morgan Wilson tallied a match-high 17 digs. Hannah Marshall led the team with 29 assists on the evening.

Tarleton’s Nikki McNorton posted a double-double in the match with 12 kills and 12 total blocks to lead the TexAnns. Flynn Harrell tallied 10 kills for the team as well. Jessie Hartman led the squad with 23 assists and 13 digs.

The Pioneers finish the 2011 season at 13-17 overall and Tarleton improves to 20-13. The TexAnns will move onto the semifinal round tomorrow night and will play the winner between No. 1-seeded West Texas A&M and No. 8-seeded Texas A&M-Kingsville. First serve is set for 7:30 p.m.

 
Match 4 - #1 West Texas A&M vs. #5 Texas A&M-Kingsville

The #13 Lady Buffs of West Texas A&M advanced to the Lone Star Conference Tournament Semifinals for the seventh straight season with a sweep over the Javelinas of Texas A&M-Kingsville 25-17, 25-16, 25-14 in front of over 850 fans at The Box in Canyon, Texas. The win lifts the Lady Buffs to 31-2 overall while the Javelinas finish their season at 15-15.

The first set saw the Javelinas take an early 14-13 lead before the powerful WT offense made an 8-0 run to take a 20-14 lead heading into a TAMUK timeout. The Lady Buffs finished out the set on a 5-3 run after the break to take the first set 25-17.

The Lady Buff offense started out the second set hot to take a 13-7 lead into a Javelina timeout, Kingsville made a small run after the break to cut the WT lead to 22-15 heading into another TAMUK timeout.

The third set started out with both teams trading points early before WT made a run to take a 14-9 lead into a Kingsville timeout, the Lady Buffs finished out the set and the match with a 25-14 win to advance to the LSC Semifinals.

LSC Co-Offensive Player of the Year Ashley Davis led all players with 12 kills followed by teammate Sarah Martin with 10. The Lady Buffs hit .253 compared to Kingsville’s .096 and they registered 40 assists and 40 digs on the night.

LSC Setter of the Year Lacy Hayes dished out 37 assists while teammate Lauren Beville tallied 11 digs.

The Lady Buffs will face off with the TexAnns of Tarleton State who defeated Texas Woman’s in four sets earlier in the day, the Semifinal match is set for 7:30 p.m. at The Box in Canyon. #18 Angelo State and Abilene Christian will battle in the other
Semifinal at 5 p.m.

Match 5 - #2 Angelo State vs. #3 Abilene Christian

No. 3-seeeded Abilene Christian took a 1-0 lead following a 32-30 win over No. 2-seeded Angelo State in the first of two semifinal matches at the Lone Star Conference Volleyball Championships on Saturday, but the Rambelles came back to win the next three sets and take the semifinal 3-1 over the Wildcats at “The Box” in Canyon, Texas.

The Wildcats came away with the marathon-like first set, downing the Rambelles 32-30. ACU led by as many as six points (17-11) midway through the set, but ASU came within two points on a kill from Kaelen Valdez which made the score 23-21 in favor of ACU. The Wildcats went up set-point on a kill from Sara Oxford, but the Rambelles rattled off four straight points to go up 25-24 and forcing ACU head coach Kellen Mock to call a timeout. The match had six more ties making it 30-30 later, but ACU finally closed out the set with Kills from Aubree Vick and Rachel Riley to take the initial set of the first semifinal.

Early in the second set, ACU’s Neely Borger tallied a kill to pull the Wildcats within a point, down 4-5, but ASU went on a 5-0 run to take a 10-4 lead and led by five or more points over the majority of the set. ACU came back though and pulled within three points and trailed 17-14 before ASU closed out the set on an 8-4 run to take the set 25-18.

The Rambelles took a 2-1 lead following a 25-21 win over the Wildcats in the third set. Both teams traded point s back-and-forth over the entire set, and ACU tied the match up 18-18 on an ace from Maddie Huth. ASU followed with a 5-0 run before ACU got back onto the board. ACU pulled back within three points on an attack error by the Rambelles, but ASU’s Celeste Bonter recorded the final two points and ASU came away with the win.

ASU opened the fourth set with a 6-0 run and later went up 12-3 on a bad set from ACU. The Wildcats tallied the next three points to pull within six, and later pulled within four points, down 14-10, on a kill from Kalynne Allen. ASU was forced to call a timeout and won the next two points to take back the six point lead. The Rambelles then finished off the Wildcats with a 9-6 run to win the set and take the match, 3-1.

Valdez led the Rambelles with 19 kills on the evening and she finished the set with a double-double, collecting 14 digs as well. Alex Woolsey led the team with 54 assists and a team-high 15 digs. Huth led the match with five total blocks.

ACU was led by Jennie Hutt on the offensive side of the net, tallying 18 kills for the Wildcats. Haley Rhoads tallied 49 assists and
Kelsie Edwards recorded a match-high 28 digs. Neely Borger led the Wildcats at the net with six total blocks.

ACU falls to 21-13 with the loss and will now await selections made to the NCAA Division II playoffs. The Wildcats entered the week ranked No. 8 in the south central regional rankings. ASU improved to 30-4 overall and will play in its second-consecutive LSC Championship final tomorrow night. The Rambelles will play the winner of West Texas A&M and Tarleton from Saturday’s second semifinal. Saturday’s final is set to begin at 7 p.m. at The Box.   

Match 6 - #1 West Texas A&M vs. #4 Tarleton State

The #13 Lady Buffs of West Texas A&M overcame a tough first set to sweep the TexAnns of Tarleton State 25-22, 25-20, 25-15 on Veterans Day to put WT into its sixth straight Lone Star Conference Tournament Championship match in front of 1,111 fans at The Box. WT improves to 32-2 overall while Tarleton State falls to 20-14.

The Lady Buffs hit .260 compared to TSU’s .147 while registering 42 assists, 40 digs and 9.5 blocks on the night.

Tarleton was led offensively by Nikki McNorton with 10 kills and Jessie Hartman with 21 assists as they registered a total of 35 assists and 28 digs. Tarleton also registered six blocks on the match.

LSC Co-Offensive Player of the Year Ashley Davis led all players with 13 kills followed by Sarah Martin with 11.

LSC Setter of the Year Lacy Hayes dished out 39 assists and Lauren Beville tallied 12 digs.

The Lady Buffs advance to the LSC Championship Match tomorrow night against the #18 Rambelles of Angelo State at 7 p.m. at The Box in Canyon, Texas.