PIONEERS’ SEASON COMES TO AN END WITH LOSS TO
WEST TEXAS A&M

CANYON, TX—Playing the sixth best team in the region on their home court proved to be too much for Texas Woman’s University (16-19) as West Texas A&M (28-7) handed the Pioneers a 23-30, 23-30, 25-30 loss in the semifinals of the Lone Star Conference Tournament. TWU had two players in double figures in kills with Jenny Madrid (Panama City, Panama/Hill College) leading the way with 13.

"I was proud of our team tonight because they fought hard and played very well. We just got beat by a better team. Everybody in the conference did not expect TWU to be in the semifinals of the conference tournament when the season began, but we earned our right to be here and the team played well," head coach Shelly Barberee said. "This was a great season and we ended it well even though we came out on the short end of the stick tonight. I am very proud of how our team played through adversity this season to get to this point. If we would have been seeded first, we might be playing for a conference title tomorrow, but we played the cards that were dealt to us and we are leaving here with our heads held high."

TWU opened the match up with their best offensive performance, hitting .283 with 17 kills and only four errors, but the Lady Buffs were that much better, hitting .333 with 22 kills in a 23-30 game one victory. The Pioneers hitting percentage went down every game because WTAM started blocking their attack. The Lady Buffs finished with 12 block assists, five coming from Megan Spivey. WTAM took game two by the same score, 23-30, on the strength of 16 kills on 45 swings while limiting the Pioneers to a .191 attack percentage. TWU had a five-point lead in the final frame, but WTAM turned in 17 kills to the Pioneers 14 and won the match with a 25-30 victory. The Lady Buffs move on to the finals where they will meet Central Oklahoma and try to claim their fifth straight conference championship.

TWU finished the match with a .207 attack percentage with 46 kills and 17 errors on 140 swings. Senior Marci Brinkman (Carrollton, TX/Newman Smith H.S.) joined Madrid in double digits in kills with 11 while Courtney Lewis (San Antonio, TX/ Panola College) chipped in with nine. Lewis and Carley Messmer (Garland, TX/UT-San Antonio) each earned double digits in digs with 13 and 11, respectively. Messmer also finished with a team-high 39 assists.

TWU finishes their season with 16 victories, the most since 1997 when that team went 24-13. The Pioneers also won a share of the LSC North Division title, the programs second championship since TWU joined the conference in 1989. Madrid led the team in kills on the year with 387 while senior Heather Smith (Chino Hills, CA/ Ayala H.S.) finished second with a career-high 347. Brinkman, who, along with Smith, made her final appearance in a Pioneer uniform, led the team with 117 total blocks. Messmer recorded 1,023 assists to lead the team while Paz Diaz (Truth or Consequences, NM/N.M. Military Institute) turned in a team-leading 465 digs. TWU turned in a 12-match winning streak during the month of October and finished by winning 14 of their final 18 matches to end the season.