OKLAHOMA CITY, OK: The Texas Wesleyan University volleyball team (14-8, 3-2 SAC) dropped a 3-0 (25-20, 26-24, 25-15) match to No. 23 Oklahoma City University (10-3, 3-0 SAC) at Abe Lemons Arena on Tuesday.
 
The Stars posted an 8-3 lead to start the match, but the Lady Rams fought back with a 5-0 rally capped by a Shaughnessy Hearn ace to cut the lead to 8-7. The Stars went on a 7-1 run to jump back out to a 15-8 advantage, before the Rams played catch up again. Kristina Gafford beat the defense on a tricky kill to make it a 17-15 game, but Oklahoma City kept a slight lead despite Lady Ram pressure to take the first set 25-20.
 
The second set began with a Lady Ram 5-0 burst, started by a Shelby Stinnett kill. Carli Owens and Abby Zipoy both got in the mix with kills as well. The Lady Rams could not keep the scoring distance though, as the Stars quickly tied the game at 5 apiece. Zipoy kept the Rams ahead 8-7 with a kill, but OCU came back and established some breathing room at12-9. Gafford and the Rams tied the set 13-13 on an ace after a Zipoy sideout kill. The Stars held on for dear life to the slightest of leads late into the set. Alanna Hayhurst and Zipoy teamed up for a pair of kills to cut the deficit to 19-18, but a 4-0 Stars rally made it a 23-19 game. Wesleyan took a timeout and Zipoy gave her team a side out kill before the Stars threatened with set point. TWU played well with their back against the wall, digging their feet in. Stinnett laced in a pair of kills before Owens tied the set at 24-24 with a kill. The Stars held on though, taking a point from an attacking error and a block by Tori Leisure gave Oklahoma City the second set.
 
The two teams played close to start the third set, but the Stars held a slight advantage until and 3-0 Ram run after a Starnisha Bodie kill and a pair of Stinnett kills to take a 7-6 lead. Neither team could gain any type of advantage as the game was tied over 10 times before Zipoy pelted the defense with a kill to make a 15-13 advantage. The Stars did one better, completely taking control of the contest with a 12-0 run to finish the match 3-0 with 25-15 win.
 
Stinnett posted eight kills and 17 digs in the match. Zipoy had nine kills. Gafford posted a double double in 17 assists and 10 digs.
 
The Lady Rams will continue their daunting road schedule with a match against Wayland Baptist University on Friday, October 2. That contest is set for a 7:00 pm start in Plainview, TX.