OKLAHOMA CITY, OK - Texas Wesleyan Volleyball (16-7, 11-3 SAC) ran into a buzzsaw Friday night - No. 22 Oklahoma City (24-1, 14-0 SAC). The Lady Rams nearly pushed the Stars into extra serves twice, but ultimately fell in straight sets 25-23, 25-15, 25-23.

The last time the Stars lost at home was October 21, 2017. Since then, Oklahoma City has rattled off 31 consecutive victories on its home floor. 

Arianna Alvarado led the offense with 13 kills, her third-straight match with double digit kills, the first time this season she's had at least 10 kills in three consecutive contests. Chastiny Brown had nine kills and Britni Mohle added four. Brenda Pargas turned in 18 assists while Madison Lopez dug out 18 attacks from the Stars.

TXWES played OCU neck and neck in the first set, never falling behind by more than four points. But the Stars didn't exactly play the underdog role. The Lady Rams tied the set at four (Alvarado kill) and then again at 10 (Veronika Webb kill) and then again at 11, 12 and 14. The first lead came off of Lopez' service ace, giving Texas Wesleyan a 16-15 advantage. Down 19-18, the Stars went on a mini 4-1 run and never gave the lead back.

In Set 3, it was the Lady Rams who controlled the pace, launching to 9-5 and 17-14 leads but down the stretch OCU found the critical points. Another mini 5-1 run gave the Stars a 22-20 edge, led by a pair of kills from Catelyn Vargas and like in Set 1, once Oklahoma City took the lead down the stretch, the NAIA Championship-hopefuls did not surrender the lead. Sophia Salak assisted on 38 of the Stars' 40 kills. Salak is ninth in the NAIA in assists per set.

The Lady Rams take a short trip to Bethany, Oklahoma Saturday at 1 p.m., a date with Southwestern Christian, a program that has lost to TXWES in all 15 historical meetings. The Eagles are fighting for position at the bottom of the Sooner Athletic Conference Tournament bracket with six games to go. SCU is 6-8 in conference, with Wayland Baptist (7-8) and Oklahoma Panhandle State (6-8) in the battle for the sixth, seventh and eighth seeds. 

The last major test for Texas Wesleyan in the top-heavy SAC before postseason play will be a trip to Southwestern Assemblies of God Tuesday October 29.