For the second time in SAC play, Texas Wesleyan swept Wayland Baptist, this time 25-21, 25-21, 25-17 to improve their record to 19-3 overall and 13-1 in conference. The Pioneers fall to 6-13 in overall and 3-6 in conference.
Texas Wesleyan once again outplayed the Pioneers on all fronts with 48 kills to the Pioneers 36, with six aces; nine blocks to Wayland's seven, and 75 digs to the Pioneers 72.
In set one, the Rams jumped out to a 10-2 lead before Wayland began to climb back into the game, chipping away at the Rams' lead to tie the set at 14-14. After four unanswered points behind Wayland errors and strong net play from Texas Wesleyan, the Rams kept the Pioneers at arm's length to take the 25-21 win.
The second set continued the attack of the Sydneys as
Sydney Charlton had two quick kills in the first few minutes. But a stubborn Pioneer defense and strong net play kept the game close and resulted in nine ties until 20-20. Once again, the Sydneys hit back-to-back kills, followed by a
Kendal King kill and an
Emily Lewis ace serve. King and Alexander blocked the Pioneers' final attack of the set to give the Rams a 25-21 win.
Early moments of the third set were tight as both teams jockeyed back and forth, with the Pioneers capitalizing on Ram errors. Wayland never took the lead in the set. The Rams finished the match with back-to-back kills from Alexander and King to take a 25-17 win.
Charlton and King led the Rams with 10 kills each. King also had four blocks. Alexander led all players with six blocks and added eight kills.
Ruby O'Brien led all players with 24 assists, and added 12 digs, while
Andrea Malek once again led all players defense with 25 digs in the game.
Skylar Warde also had 10 digs in the match, and
Emily Lewis provided the Rams with four of their six service aces.
Texas Wesleyan hosts Mid-America Christian University on Friday, Oct. 21 at the Sid Richardson Center at 6 p.m. The Rams swept MACU the last time the two met on Sept. 17. The Rams hold a 21-0 record against MACU overall.
