MUSKOGEE, OK: The Texas Wesleyan University volleyball team (17-2, 4-2 SAC) made it five straight wins with a 3-0 (27-25, 25-17, 25-23) win over Bacone College (1-11, 0-6 SAC) on Saturday.
 
The meeting between the Lady Rams and Warriors was the first since Texas Wesleyan alum and duel sport phenom Marissa Rangel took the helm as a head coach of the Bacone College volleyball program. Rangel played softball and volleyball in her time at Wesleyan and was the assistant volleyball coach for three seasons after graduating.
 
Assistant coach Alex Hendee, who is currently fulfilling head coaching duties while Kimberly Weaver is on maternity leave celebrating the birth of her second child, said this about the experience, "It was pretty surreal. She was a senior my freshman year, and was a passionate leader of our team at the time. Today, she is still a passionate leader, but she's now using her talents to positively impact the culture and volleyball program for Bacone. We are all so proud of her, and we know she's going to to continue to do great things there as a head coach."
 
The Lady Rams played a little catch-up in the starting set, as the Warriors held a slight edge early. The Rams tied the game at 5-5 before the Bacone took a small 8-6 lead on a Nia Spencer kill. Shelby Stinnett tied the set again at 8-8 on a service ace. The two teams battled until Wesleyan made a short run capped by a Brianna Jaramillo kill for a 17-14 lead. The Warriors fired back with a 5-0 rally highlighted by a Gladymar Echeverria kill to take a 23-22 edge late. Britni Mohle and the Rams earned a 25-24 edge, but Bacone College tied the set again on the next point. A Bacone error led the way for a Morgan Reese slick kill from the setting position to get the first set, 27-25.
 
The two teams took turns on 3-0 runs to start the second set 3-3. The game was tied three more times before a 7-0 rally capped on a Mohle kill made it a 14-9 advantage. Texas Wesleyan controlled the set well, and a short 4-0 burst capped by a Kiersten Mebane kill gave the Rams a 20-14 advantage. Ariel Emory finished the set with a blast to give TXWES a 25-17 win.
 
 The Lady Rams earned an early edge before Echeverria connected on three consecutive kills to give the Warriors a 4-3 lead. Jaramillo answered on the next point with a laser kill to tie. Mohle capped a 4-0 rally for Wesleyan with a kill to make it a 9-6 edge. The Lady Rams extended the lead to 15-9 with a Chalon Anderson ace. The teams went back and forth down the stretch, as the Rams led by as many seven before the Warriors cut the lead to 21-17, capped by a Kelly Tracy point. Mebane added another kill to her tally to gain a 23-18 lead, but a 5-0 run by Bacone College that started and ended with Echeverria kills to tie the game at 23-23. Two errors by Bacone halted the dangerous rally though, giving Texas Wesleyan a 25-23 win after a grueling five set win last night in Arkansas.
 
"The Arkansas to Oklahoma weekend trip is always a challenging part of the season for us," commented Hendee after the win. "After playing a five set match last night, it made for a quick turnaround with an early match today. Although we avoid using being tired as excuse on our team, the depth of our team allows us to play an entire different group of talented athletes with fresh legs. We are also able to play better volleyball all-around and avoid fatigue-induced injuries in the process."
 
Jaramillo led the Rams with eight kills, hitting .333 in the match. Stinnett added eight kills, three aces, and even digs. Morgan Reese posted 19 assists in the win. Anderson notched 10 digs, while Mohle added six kills in the win.  
 
The Lady Rams will put their streak on the line when they host Mid-America Christian University in a conference match on Tuesday, September 27. The match is set for a 7:00 pm start at the Sid Richardson Center.