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Life > Athletics > Volleyball > 9/1/07
TWU TOPS UTPB BUT LOSES TO MSSU
 DENTON, Texas (September 1) – Saturday was an up-and-down day for the Texas Woman’s University Pioneers volleyball team at Kitty Magee Arena in Denton.
TWU started the day on a high, defeating the University of Texas-Permian Basin in four games, 30-25, 19-30, 30-23, 32-30. Unfortunately, the Pioneers faltered in their second match of the afternoon, losing in five games to Missouri Southern State University, 32-30, 23-30, 30-26, 27-30, 15-8.
Junior outside hitter Katie King was the standout player in the Pioneers comfortable win over UTPB. The Kaufman, Texas product pounded out 16 kills on an efficient .367 attack percentage. Junior middle blocker Kandis Schroeder and junior right side hitter Sharon Schaffner gave King plenty of offensive support with 13 and 10 kills respectively. Sophomore setter Jessica Crow delivered 48 assists and senior defensive specialist Heather Marcus (pictured) dug 29 balls.
TWU head coach Shelly Barberee was pleased to see her team defeat the Falcons.
“We didn’t play our best volleyball in that match, but, the bottom line is, we did what we had to do to get the win,” she explained. “We kind of came unglued in that second game, but our upper classmen (Marcus, King, Schroeder, Schaffner) stepped up for us. I liked the way we answered the challenge when we were faced with a little bit of adversity.”
The Pioneers match against Missouri Southern State was a hotly-contested struggle. The Lions took two out of the first three games, but TWU answered back with a narrow win in game four to force the deciding fifth game.
TWU, however, ran out of gas in the final game. The Pioneers registered just a .088 attack percentage and committed numerous attack errors to allow MSSU to win the game 15-8 and walk off the court with the road win. Four players - King (15), Schaffner (10), Schroeder (10), and freshman middle blocker LyGene’ Traylor (12) - recorded double-digit kills in the loss for TWU. Crow (50 assists) and Marcus (37 digs) were again outstanding for the Pioneers.
Barberee felt good about her team’s play despite the defeat.
“MSSU is a tough team. They really played well all weekend long. I was encouraged to see us rally and take the match to five games. We just tensed up in the fifth game and made too many errors. I’m not disappointed though, we showed a lot against a very talented club,” said Barberee.
The Pioneers, now 4-4 on the season, will be back in action on their home court next weekend (Friday, September 7 and Saturday, September 8) when they host an eight-team tournament.
IN OTHER TOURNAMENT GAMES ON SATURDAY:
Missouri Southern State def. Harding, 30-24, 22-30, 30-26, 28-30, 15-11
University of Central Oklahoma def. Southwest Baptist , 30-13, 30-23, 30-26
Harding University def. Southwest Baptist, 30-24, 30-23, 30-24
University of Central Oklahoma def. UT-Permian Basin, 30-22, 30-14, 30-13
ALL-TOURNAMENT TEAM:
Jessica Crow - Setter - Texas Woman’s University
Heather Marcus - Defensive Specialist - Texas Woman’s University
Chelsea Kenney - Setter - Southwest Baptist University
Manuela Nesheva - Outside Hitter - Harding University
Ashley Wright - Middle Hitter - Missouri Southern State University
Lacie Allen - Libero - University of Central Oklahoma
MOST VALUABLE PLAYER:
Mari Araujo - Outside Hitter - University of Central Oklahoma |
