FORT WORTH – Texas Wesleyan volleyball began a new era Friday afternoon at the Sid Richardson Center, but got off to a bumpy start dropping a four-set match to the University of St. Thomas-Houston 24-26, 22-25, 25-22, 20-25.
The Celts trailed late in Set 1 – 23-20, but managed to steal the game. Again, in Set 2, the Celts trailed – 18-14 – but pulled it out. The Set 1 victory snapped a streak of nine straight set losses against Wesleyan. The Lady Rams showed heart in the third game, taking a 20-20 tie and turning it into a win, thanks to three attacking errors by St. Thomas and a Robinson kill. Robinson led the Rams attack with 10 kills, a team effort that got nine kills from Dana Lorke, eight from Tierra Coverson, five from Brittni Mohle and five from newcomer Chastity Brown.
Newcomers filled the lineup, treating the fans to the possibilities of new and exciting combinations on the floor. Brianna Sitton served as the squad's libero and shined, collecting 27 digs. Brenda Pargas had 18 assists and 11 digs. Naomi Tanaka had 14 digs, two assists and two kills – coming alive in Set 4.
The Rams took advantage of a whopping 47 combined errors from St. Thomas, keeping things close all afternoon. The attacking cooled, however. After Wesleyan came out sizzling (.262 hit percentage), Wesleyan's attacking errors stacked up –from three, to six, to seven to the 12 the Lady Rams finished with, in Set 4.
The afternoon wasn't without Wesleyan comebacks. In Set 3, the Lady Rams trailed 13-8 before Brittni Mohle, Tierra Coverson and the defense got momentum turning, cutting the deficit to 16-15 before eventually taking their first lead of the third, 23-22.
Wesleyan followed that effort up by trimming the Celts 15-10 advantage to an 18-17 Ram lead. Down the stretch, the offense just couldn't find the other side of the net enough.
What's Next
- Texas Wesleyan takes a trip to the Bowling Green, Kentucky for the Mid-South Challenge with Life University, Lindsey-Wilson College, Campbellsville and the University of the Cumberlands – Friday August 24 and Saturday August 25 before returning home for doubleheaders on Friday August 31 and Saturday September 1, including the Sooner Athletic Conference opener against Central Christian Friday night at 7 p.m.
Ramblings
- Sitton's 27 digs were the most digs by a Wesleyan player in a season opener since Katlynn Romig had 29 in a four-set loss to Southern Nazarene on August 28, 2008 – nearly ten years ago.
