FORT WORTH, TX: The Texas Wesleyan University volleyball team (27-4) gutted out a 3-2 (25-14, 28-30, 12-25, 25-18, 15-7) thriller over #22 Campbellsville University (26-9) in the 2017 NAIA Women's Volleyball National Tournament Opening Round at the Sid Richardson Center on Saturday.
 
The Ramily came out in full force today, transforming the gym into a tremendous electric playoff atmosphere. The impact of the support shown by Texas Wesleyan fans was evident from the first serve.  
 
The two teams battled each other and themselves at times, committing uncharacteristic mistakes in a 'win or go home' match. Head coach Priscilla Morgan talked about how she kept her team in it mentally, "I reminded our players of who we are and what we do well. We do three things well; our blocking, serving, and transition defense. We want to play with a one team mentality. I also told them it's time to write our own history."
 
The Lady Rams started strong, overwhelming the Lady Tiger defense to the tune of .462 hitting. The set was highlighted by a huge Tierra Coverson, Brittni Mohle block that cued an explosion of applause and cheers from the home team fans. TXWES ended the set in dominating fashion with a 12-4 run.
 
The Lady Tigers found their footing in the second set, pounding the court for a commanding 15-3 advantage. Not to be outdone, TXWES rattled off a dominant 17-3 rally in response to gain a 20-18 edge. The Lady Rams climbed out of the massive hole, but the Lady Tigers recovered and tied the set at 22 apiece. It was game on from there. The score was knotted up six more time before a Mohle kill gave TXWES a 28-27 edge. Campbellsville refused to go down 2-0 though, and Annija Abolina doubled up on kills before a service ace tied the match at 1-1.
 
The Lady Tigers used the momentum from the second set to jump out to another decisive 12-3 lead to start the third. The Lady Rams seemed a little out of sorts and dropped a 25-12 set to go down 2-1 in the match.
 
The Rams stayed switched on in the fourth set, grabbing a 15-9 lead on the heels of a booming Brianna Jaramillo kill. Sasha Robinson added a beautifully timed kill from the setting position to put a bow on a fourth set win, forcing a fifth.
 

With the Ram fans getting rowdy in the background the Lady Rams fought to keep the game close after allowing the Lady Tigers to post a two-point lead. It was a classic storybook finish from there. Shelby Stinnett launched two powerful kills during a 6-0 rally before finishing strong with a 6-2 run to complete the 3-2 match win.
 
Stinnett led all players with 19 kills. Robinson notched a double-double behind 31 assists and 18 digs. She also added five kills and three blocks in the win. Dana Lohrke put down 10 kills and got in on six blocks. Coverson tallied seven kills and eight blocks. Kayla Hayes notched 16 digs, while Chalon Anderson posed 12 digs for TXWES.
 
The Lady Rams advance to the final championship site in Sioux City, IA. The tournament starts with three days of pool play starting on November 28. The top two teams from each pool will earn a spot in the elimination bracket before the NAIA crowns a national champion on December 2. The pools for the tournament will be announced tomorrow.