FORT WORTH, TX: The Texas Wesleyan University volleyball team (10-15, 6-4 SAC) dropped a match to #22 Wayland Baptist University (15-9, 8-2 SAC) in four sets (25-20, 27-29, 25-14, 25-16) at the Sid Richardson Center on Saturday.
 
The Lady Rams played well in the first set, starting strong for the third straight home match. The Pioneers also played well as the two teams battled for the lead early. An Abigail Zipoy ace gave Wesleyan an 8-7 lead, and a Shelby Stinnettkill extended the lead slightly to an 11-9 advantage. Texas Wesleyan held on to the lead until a Wayland block tied the set at 14-14, and once again the two battled. A Stinnett kill made it a 20-19 Ram lead, before the Pioneers rattled off a 6-0 run to take a 25-20 win.
 
The Lady Rams came out firing in the second set with a dominating performance, while keeping the Pioneers on their heels. Texas Wesleyan notched a 10-1 run to start, capped by an Alex Hendee kill. The Rams extended the lead to 16-5, highlighted by a Zipoy smash. Wayland Baptist cut the lead to 16-10 with a 5-0 run and then outscored the Rams 9-3 to tie the set at 19 apiece. Kiersten Mebane knocked in a kill to regain the lead at 20-19, but the Pioneers kept the game within reach. Both teams battled hard as the game was knotted up at 27-27 before a Hendee kill complimented with a Lynsay Buell kill gave the Lady Rams a 29-27 win.
 
The third set was tight early again before Wayland Baptist was able to string a few kills together for an 11-7 lead. The Lady Rams were caught out of sorts, and the 22nd ranked Pioneers took full advantage, extending the lead to 17-9. WBU outscored Texas Wesleyan 8-4 from there for a 25-14 third set win.
 
The Lady Rams held a 3-0 lead to start the fourth set that was sparked by a Zipoy kill, but with momentum on their side the Pioneers quickly tied and held a slight advantage at 6-4. A pair of thundering Hendee kills tied the set, 6-6. Shaughnessy Hearn knocked down a service ace for an 8-6 Lady Ram lead. TWU held a slight lead until a Chelsey Driskill kill tied the game at 10 all. Wayland Baptist helped their cause with a 10-2 run to lead 20-12. Hendee beat the defense two more times with kills, but Wesleyan could not make a comeback run, falling 25-16.
 
"We competed at a high level today," commented head coach Kimberly Weaver after the match, "In two of the three sets we lost, we were just a few keys plays away from a different outcome. Lynsay and Kiersten did a great job of slowing down (Shahala) Hawkins. When we were solid out of serve receive, our offense was unstoppable. If we keep fighting like that, big things will happen for this team."
 
Hendee led the charge with 18 kills. Zipoy notched a double-double with 10 kills and 11 digs. Stinnett also posted double-double numbers with 11 kills and 15 digs. Kristina Gafford had 21 assists in the effort.
 
The Lady Rams will play Southern Nazarene University on Monday, October 20. The match is set for a 7:00 pm start.