SIOUX CITY, Iowa – The Texas Wesleyan University volleyball team (25-9) nearly pulled-off an upset of No. 4 Missouri Baptist (32-5) in a 3-2 (25-23, 14-25, 25-22, 23-25, 15-9) thriller on the opening day of the 2019 Women's Volleyball National Championship presented by Marriot South Sioux City River Front at the Tyson Events Center on Tuesday.
 
In what could have possibly been the upset of the tournament, Texas Wesleyan put the pressure on the top seed in Pool D. The Spartans played from behind many times throughout the match. The team finished with 104 digs and nine total blocks against a team hitting .250 on the season, good for seventh in the nation. The Lady Rams held Missouri Baptist to just .219 hitting today. The Lady Rams rallied from down six in the fourth set to get to 23-22, but the Spartans escaped and went on to win the match in the final set.
 
"It was a tough loss, but we did a lot of good things as a team," commented head coach Jessica Ransom. "We'll take those positive notes and use them to fuel us for the rest of the tournament. Taking the No. 4 team in the nation to five sets is a great start to the tournament. We'll keep fighting and finish pool play strong."
 
In the first set, strong was the name of the game. The two teams displayed salty defense, but it was Lady Rams who got in on five blocks to spur momentum behind .273 hitting. Down 22-18, TXWES charged back with 7-1 rally capped by an Arianna Alvarado kill to take the set. Three key blocks led by Veronika Webb and Alvarado started the run and established momentum.
 
In the second set, the Spartans started to hit away from the block and seemed to keep the Lady Ram back line off balance for a good portion. The Spartans took a 5-4 lead and never let it go, continuing to build on the way, tying the match at 1-1.
 
The Lady Rams charged ahead in the third, taking the first five points to establish a slight edge. The lead grew to as many as seven at 19-12, behind a few Missouri Baptist errors. The Spartans trimmed the lead to two – 22-20 – but it was Sydney Charlton and the Rams who took the third set to put MBU on the ropes.  
 
The fourth set was full of grit. The Lady Rams did an outstanding job of keeping the ball alive, trying to manage a downright onslaught from the Spartans. TXWES kept a slight edge until a 20-3 run by Missouri Baptist gave the Spartans a 21-15 advantage. Two keen blocks led by McKayla Flowers stopped the rally and Texas Wesleyan cut into the lead enough to make the No. 4 team sweat, but MBU gutted out a win to steer the match to a fifth set.
 
The fifth set got off to a rocky start and that allowed the Spartans to march to a 7-2 lead. The Lady Rams made MBU work for it, but could not secure a comeback in the near-upset.
 
Pargas picked up her sixth double-double of the season behind 25 assists and a season-high 18 digs. Charlton led the attack with 11 kills, hitting .281. Brianna Sitton turned in a solid performance with a season-high 21 digs, while Madison Lopez led all players with 28 digs. Brittni Mohle added 11 kills and Chastiny Brown contributed 10 kills to the effort. Webb finished with one solo block and five block assists.
 
Texas Wesleyan Volleyball will play Grand View (Iowa) tomorrow in the second pool game of the tournament. The match is scheduled for an 8:00 p.m. start, however the actual start time could be later due the competitive nature of this tournament. 10 of the 16 matches in day one took four sets or more to decide.
 
Ramblings
 

• The last meeting between the two teams was at the 2005 National Tournament, when the Lady Rams defeated the Spartans 3-0 in Pool Play. 

 

• The team was 3-3 in five set matches heading into the day. Missouri Baptist was 1-0 in five set matches – a win over Pool D mate Grand View in a regular season match.

 

• The Volleyball program is making its 11th appearance at the NAIA Women's Volleyball National Championship.

 

• The team has made two Runner-up finishes (1982, 1990), as well as two final four (1986, 1987) and two elite eight (2004, 2005) appearances at the national tournament.

 

• The team sponsor, The Arena sports academy, is Sioux City's new multi-sport venue and community sports project with the intent on bringing competitive youth sports to the fore-front of the Siouxland area. Jeff Carlson, a partner with The Arena and a former NAIA student-athlete, shared his vision and passion for role that sports play in the community. For more information, visit hessecarlsonarena.com and follow them on Twitter at @HessCarArena, on Facebook @hessecarlsonarena, and on Instagram @arenasportsacademy.