COLUMBIA, Mo. – The Texas Wesleyan University volleyball team collected a 3-1 win over #17 Columbia College (Mo.) in the 2021 NAIA Women's Volleyball National Championship Opening Round at Southwell Complex on Saturday.
 
The Lady Rams advance to the national championship final site in Sioux City, Iowa. The hunt for the Red Banner runs from Nov. 30 – Dec. 4 at Tyson Events Center.
 
Columbia has won four national titles; and leads the field with the most national championship appearances with 27.
 
Head coach Jessica Ransom on the win, "Columbia is a solid team with a ton of history at the national tournament. We knew based on stats and film that it would be a close match. The girls followed our game plan perfectly. I am so proud of the work they put in this week to be able to execute our offense and defense like they did. All credit goes to this team for stepping up and playing lights our and together."
 
The Lady Rams hit .276 for the match, but hit .355 in the final two sets to get past Columbia.
 
Anderson was outstanding in the win. She notched 16 kills and 19 digs in the win. Webb was consistent, taking on 14 kills, adding 3 solo blocks and a pair of block assists. Burns was very Burns-like behind 44 assists and 13 digs. Foy was efficient once again, posting 10 kills with four block assists and a solo block. Sydney Charlton made the offense tough to defend with seven more kills.  
 
The Rams dominated the first set, jumping out to a 4-0 lead after a pair of kills by Veronika Webb and Arianna Alvarado. The Cougars clawed back to get within one point at 8-7, but TXWES extended the lead to 18-8 after a 10-1 rally, prompting a Columbia timeout. Morgan Burns put down a kill from the setting position to end the set, 25-14.
 
It went the other way in the second set. The Cougars held a 4-1 advantage early, and pushed the lead to 13-5 and then 21-10 on the heels of an Abby Massengill kill. TXWES battled, but could not overcome the deficit, dropping the set 25-16.
 
With the match tied 1-1, the Lady Rams established another early lead in the all-important third set at 7-3, capped on a Bailey Foy kill. The team continued to control the entire set, hitting .316. Foy posted five kills in the set, while Nyia Anderson tacked on four kills. TXWES held the Cougars at arm's length on the way to a 25-19 win.
 
In the fourth set, the Blue & Gold made sure to do what they did in the first and third. Establish an early lead and manage the Cougar attack. The team built a 12-7 edge and extended the lead to seven on a Webb smash. Anderson took over from there, rattling off four of the final five Lady Ram points to hold on, winning 25-20 and taking the match 3-1.
 
TXWES Volleyball will await the final site pool play match-ups announcement by the NAIA, scheduled for release tomorrow.