FORT WORTH, TX: The Texas Wesleyan University volleyball team (19-9, 8-3 SAC) downed Bacone College (0-22, 0-11 SAC) 3-0 (25-20, 25-18, 27-25) at the Sid Richardson Center on Friday.
 
The Lady Rams finally got to play in front of their home crowd after going 7-3 on a daunting 10-game road trip and winning their last four. Head coach Kimberly Weaver had this to say about how her team weathered the long road stand, "The last couple of weeks on the road have been grueling. We have been tested and challenged, but have grown stronger as a team in the process."
 
The Lady Rams faced off against the struggling Bacone College Warriors, but that did not stop Wesleyan from treating this match any different. Weaver said this about before the match, "I think the lesson we have learned that will have the most impact is that we have to fight for every point, in every set, against every opponent, if we get that switch flipped we will be very hard to beat." "We have improved at every position, and feel confident that will continue. It is the depth of our bench that sets us apart. No one else in our league has the selflessness of a Mary Trejo and Bre Blackburn. (I'm) Very proud of this group and excited to see what we accomplish over the next two months."
 
The Warriors were prepared for the Lady Rams attack and defended against it with intensity throughout the match. The score was tied ten times in the first set before Wesleyan took a 4-0 rally spurred by an Abby Zipoy kill. Starnisha Bodie started and ended a 4-1 run that gave the Rams a 25-20 win.
 
Bodie continued with a kill to start the second set and the Lady Rams got out to a 6-1 lead capped by an Alanna Hayhurst kill. The Warriors came back and tied the set at 9-9 and the two teams went back and forth and Bacone took an 11-10 before TWU fought back. Kristina Gafford tied the set on a sneaky kill that caught the defense off guard that sparked a 6-0 run capped by back-to-back kills from Shelby Stinnett to gain a 16-11. Hayhurst took the set ending shot to give the Rams a 25-18 win.
 
The Lady Rams started the third set with a 6-1 lead highlighted by a Morgan Reese ace. The Warriors did their best come from behind act, and performed admirably tying the match15-15. Texas Wesleyan held a slight edge at 20-18 with a Zipoy kill. The Rams held on but Bacone tied the game again at 23 apiece. Hayhurst gave Wesleyan an edge with a kill and the Warriors answered again, tying the set at 25-25. The Lady Rams made it hard on Bacone and forced errors to take the match 3-0 with a 27-25 win.  
 
Zipoy posted another double-double, her sixth consecutive, with 12 kills and 10 digs while hitting .300. Stinnett tallied 13 kills, hitting .393 in the process. Gafford notched 35 assists in the win. Shaughnessy Hearn led all players with 17 digs, taking two service aces. Hayhurst grabbed nine kills, while Bodie had eight kills.
 
The Lady Rams will look to win their sixth straight with a match against John Brown University on Saturday, October 24 starting at 1:00 pm.