Box Score vs. UT-Brownsville
Box Score vs. Columbia
BROWNSVILLE, TX: The Texas Wesleyan University volleyball team (7-10, 1-2 RRAC) played a pair of matches against two of the top-ten teams in the country at UT-Brownsville’s Scorpion Invitational on Friday. The Rams fell 3-1 to both sixth ranked UT-Brownsville (10-0, 3-0) and eighth ranked Columbia College (11-1).
Against UT-Brownsville the Rams accomplished something that no other Red River Athletic Conference team has managed since 2008. UTB entered the contest riding a 23-match win streak in conference play. Their last loss against a conference opponent came 3-1 against Wiley College on November 7, 2008. During the streak, the Scorpions had not dropped a single set.
In game one, the Scorpions jumped out to a quick 8-0 lead, but found that the Rams would not go quietly. The Rams chipped away and cut the deficit to three points (19-16) before falling 25-22. In game two, the Rams asserted themselves early. After the Scorpions scored the game’s first point, the Rams jumped ahead and held the Scorpions off until UTB took a 15-14 lead. Texas Wesleyan immediately responded and the lead changed hands three more times before a kill by Kristen Venhuizen gave Wesleyan a 19-18 lead that they would not relinquish on their way to a 25-23 win.
The Rams continued to battle in the third set, leading as late as 14-13 before the Scorpions checked out. UTB used an 8-2 run to take a 21-16 lead and put the game out of reach. The Rams were able to close the gap to 22-19 before falling, 25-20.
In game four, five unanswered points gave the Scorpions an early 6-2 lead, and the Rams were unable to recover. The Rams cut the lead to 10-8, but UT-Brownsville promptly pushed the score to 14-9 and pulled away for the 25-16 win.
Venhuizen led the Rams’ attack with 17 kills to go with nine digs. Evoni Darling finished with 29 assists and 11 digs. Marissa Rangel also posted 11 digs. Meanwhile the Lady Rams’ defense held UTB to a season low .149 hitting percentage.
Against Columbia the Rams stunned the high-powered Cougars by surviving three ties and three lead changes on their way to a 25-22 win in the opening set. Columbia settled down and took games two and three 25-15 and 25-7. In game four, the Rams kept things close at 20-18 before the Cougars scored the game’s final five points.
Venhuizen and Katherine Rosenbush led the Rams with eight kills apiece. Darling finished with 26 assists and eight digs. Rangel and Haelee Horne had 15 and 11 digs respectively.
“I’m very proud of the way the girls played today,” commented head coach Christy Clawson. “We had some key mental errors that cost us, but we had a chance to beat two of the best teams in the country. We are definitely getting to where we want to be.”
The Rams will continue play in the Scorpion Invitational on Saturday. They face Lubbock Christian University at 3:00 p.m.
