ARLINGTON, TX: The Texas Wesleyan University volleyball team (8-13) picked up a solid 3-0 (25-18, 25-15, 25-16) win over Arlington Baptist College (7-7) at Frank Norris Memorial Auditorium on Tuesday.
 
The Lady Patriots held a slight lead out of the gate, before a 6-0 Lady Ram rally capped by an Abigail Zipoy kill gave Wesleyan an 11-7 lead, prompting an Arlington Baptist timeout. The Rams extended the lead to eight at 20-12 on a Shelby Stinnett throw down. The Patriots sharpened the defense a bit, but the Ram attack was too overwhelming, earning a first set win on another Zipoy kill.
 
Texas Wesleyan flexed their muscles in the second set, taking a 5-0 lead capped by a Meghan Finley kill. The Lady Patriots cut the lead to 5-3, before another 5-0 spurt made it a 10-3 lead.  Again Arlington Baptist shortened the lead to 11-8, before Texas Wesleyan answered again with a dominating 6-0 run capped by a thundering Zipoy kill for a 17-9 lead. The Rams outscored their opponent 8-6 to secure an easy 25-15 second set win.
 
Starnisha Bodie gave the Lady Rams an early 4-1 lead on a laser of a kill to start the third set, but the Patriots fought back, making adjustments from the first two sets to take a 5-4 lead on a Mattie Smith kill. The game went back and forth as the score was tied six times before Kiersten Mebane put down a smashing kill to tie the set at 10-10. Wesleyan rattled off a 6-0 run, capped by a pair of Stinnett kills, for an 18-11 lead.  The Lady Rams overpowered the Patriot defense from there. Texas Wesleyan grabbed the last four points, capped by a Mebane kill for a 25-16 win.
 
"Our win tonight was the push we needed heading into this weekend," commented head coach Kimberly Weaver after the win, "Stinnett was the whole package today. She served well, was strong at the net, and played great defense. Shaughnessy Hearn gets better every match. She will be a difference maker as we head into the second round of conference play. We are playing well, and excited to have a strong showing at home this weekend."
 
Stinnett led the charge with 16 kills and notched a season high seven service aces. Zipoy posted 10 kills while hitting .450 in the win. Shaughnessy Hearn tallied 12 digs. Kristina Gafford accumulated 32 assists for the Rams.
 
The Lady Rams as a team notched 38 kills and only eight attacking errors in an accurate effort at the net. Hearn did an excellent job of keeping the ball in play, and many of her digs were point saving digs.  
 
The Lady Rams will take on Oklahoma City University on Friday, October 10. That match scheduled for a 7:00 pm start at the Sid Richardson Center.