PLAINVIEW, TX: The Texas Wesleyan University volleyball team (27-4, 14-4 SAC) ended the regular season with a road win in straight sets (25-16, 25-21, 25-22) at Wayland Baptist University (22-14, 15-3 SAC) on Saturday.
 
The Lady Rams came out with swinging as Shelby Stinnett placed a kill in the opening volley. The lead turned into a 7-4 advantage when Brianna Jaramillo swatted one for a point. Texas Wesleyan maintained a hefty lead on the Pioneers, due in part by consecutive kills from Alanna Hayhurst to make it a 21-13 lead. Stinnett smashed down the final point of the first for a 25-16 win.
 
The Lady Rams punched out a 6-3 edge to start the second set, but the Pioneers defended home territory posting a 6-3 run to tie at 9-9. Carli Owens kept the Lady Rams in front with a hard spike from the middle position, and Jaramillo and company capped a nice run to get some breathing room at 19-14. The Pioneers were held at bay from there, and Brittni Mohle threw down a point on a kill for the 25-21 win.
 
The Pioneers held a small 3-1 lead in the third, but that was quickly erased with a 9-1 TXWES rally capped on a Mohle kill for a 10-4 lead. Hayhurst laid into to a shot to keep the lead at 15-7. A lull in the Wesleyan offense allowed Wayland Baptist to cut the lead to 18-16 before another Hayhurst kill stalled the momentum of the Pioneers. WBU finally tied the set at 21-21 after a Jessica Stohlmann. The Rams responded by keeping the lead on a Stinnett laser. TXWES outscored their opponent 4-1 the rest of the way capped by a pair of Hayhurst kills to secure the win in straight sets.
 
"Getting our first SAC win against Wayland Baptist was a huge step for our program, I'm very proud of this team," commented head coach Kimberly Weaver. "Sasha Robinson continues to get better. Shelby Stinnett and Alanna Hayhurst have been solid all season, and tonight was no different. We are excited about the momentum going into the conference tournament."
 
Hayhurst led the charge with 14 kills and 14 digs. Stinnett added 13 kills and 14 digs on the night. Sasha Robinson led all players with 43 assists, posting 11 digs as well. Chalon Anderson led all players with 22 digs, while Kayla Hayes tacked on 19 digs in the match. Jaramillo and Mohle each posted nine kills in the win.
 
The Lady Rams will enter the Sooner Athletic Conference as the third seed and will host sixth seeded Southwestern Christian University on Tuesday, November 8. Game time to be determined. Visit www.ramsports.net for updates.