FORT WORTH, TX: The Texas Wesleyan University volleyball team (4-0) won 12 consecutive sets to finish up the 2016 RRAC/SAC Conference Clash. The Lady Rams topped the University of St. Thomas (25-19, 25-15, 26-24) before taking a match from Langston University (25-14, 25-11, 25-14) to cap the tournament at W.G. Thomas Coliseum of Saturday.
 
The Lady Rams played the Celts in their first contest of the day, the most competitive Red River Conference team in the tournament. The two teams were neck and neck to start the match. Wesleyan got consecutive kills from Sasha Robinson and Shelby Stinnett to make it a 13-10 edge before the Celts took a timeout. Robinson put down an ace to cap a 5-0 rally to extend the lead to 16-10. St. Thomas fought back with a run of their own, rattling off six straight points to tie the game. Wesleyan responded with a 6-1 run capped on a Kiersten Mebane kill for a 22-17 lead. Alanna Hayhurst made it set point with a smash before an error gave Texas Wesleyan the 25-19 win.
 
Hayhurst took advantage of a few miscues by putting down a kill to start the second set with a 5-0 edge. The Celts tied the game at 7-7 before the Lady Rams pulled out a 19-11 lead on another Hayhurst smash kill. The Celts had no answer for the Ram offense and Stinnett finished the set with laser sharp hit for a 25-15 win.
 
St. Thomas came out in the third set to take a 4-1. Kiersten Mebane pelted a shot for the Lady Rams, but St. Thomas used their hard-nosed, crafty defense to stay alive, taking a 10-7 lead on an Alyzabeth Vincent ace that prompted at Wesleyan timeout. The two teams went shot for shot down the stretch, with the Celts hanging on to a 20-18 lead. The pace slowed down a bit as both team kept the ball in the air, unwilling to give up important points. St. Thomas clung to a 23-19 advantage before the Rams busted out a 5-1 run that included three Stinnett kills to tie the game at 24 apiece. St. Thomas took their final timeout to try and kill momentum, but Carli Owens posted a pair of strong kills to end the match 3-0 with a 26-24 win.
 
Stinnett led Wesleyan posting a double-double with 11 kills and 11 digs. Mebane tacked on eight kills. Hayhurst notched seven kills, 10 digs, and three aces in the win. Robinson posted a season high 30 assists, while Chalon Anderson led all players with 19 digs.  
 
In the match versus Langston, the Lady Rams stormed out to a 20-12 lead capped by a Tyler Hemphill ace in the blink of an eye. Brittni Mohle and Ariel Emory teamed up for two kills to end the set 25-14.
 
Mohle started the Rams off on the right foot in the second set, with three kills to help Wesleyan out to an 8-1 advantage. Wesleyan posted a 12-0 rally capped by a Kayla Hayes service ace to make it a 17-2 lop-sided score. The Rams kept the proverbial petal to the metal to charge to a 25-11 win capped by a Stinnett kill.
 
The Lions kept close tabs on the Rams in the third set, tying the set at 8-8. Wesleyan outscored Langston 10-1 capped by consecutive kills from Morgan Reese and Hemphill to gain an 18-9 lead. Shaylee Griffin knocked down a kill before a couple Lady Lion mishaps gave the home team a 3-0 match win with a 25-14 set win.
 
Mohle and Emory led the team with nine kills each. Reese and Hayes kept the Rams organized with 20 assists apiece. Owens knocked down seven kills. McKenzie Black led all players with 13 digs.
 
We asked head coach Kimberly Weaver how important it is to have great all-around depth that has been missing in previous years. Weaver answered, "Having depth is definitely one of our biggest strengths going into this season. We have several very versatile players who allow us to have lots of options. I was very encouraged with our performance the weekend, we had steady play from returners and the poise of our newcomers was impressive. We were able to come back from a 19-23 deficit against St. Thomas because of our depth, being able to make in-set adjustments is a huge plus."
 
Senior Alanna Hayhurst had this to say after a great individual start. Hayhurst is transitioning to a new position to help the team and her self-less act is paying off in the 4-0 start. "It's obviously very big for us to start the season strong." She acknowledged the shaky start in the first match versus Jarvis, but that was due to getting used to a new position. She also made one of the most impressive points this writer has seen in a long time. Going full speed to her right to get to an unfavorable set, she took a swing to hit the ball back to the left, keeping it out of danger from going out of bounds, getting it over the net to fall for a point. "There might have been a little luck involved," she laughed, "but I just made sure I was in the best position I could, got a good touch on it and it paid off," the senior commented modestly. It was an incredible play amongst a myriad of great team play.
 
The Lady Rams will take a short drive to Denton, TX for a meeting with Texas Woman's University on August 23. First serve is set for 7:00 pm.