The Rams won their first round of the SAC tournament with a 3-1 win over Wayland Baptist at the Sid Richardson Center on Nov. 8. 

The 25-20, 25-21, 23-25, 25-11 win puts the Rams' record to 25-4 overall and 18-2 in conference. Wayland drops to 9-17 overall with the loss.

The Rams dominated Wayland with 60 kills to 47; 11 service aces to two, and 85 digs to the Pioneer's 74. Kendal King led all players with 16 kills in the match; Sydney Alexander had 13 kills, and Lauran Richards had 11 kills in the match. Ruby O'Brien recorded 54 assists in the game, her highest in the season; 14 digs and two service aces. Andrea Malek led the Ram defense with 23 digs, while Emily Lewis had 15 digs.

In the first set, both teams kept the game tight early on until the Rams broke out to a. 9-5 lead. Wayland fought back to bring the game within one at 15-14. The Rams took the lead again at 22-17 before Wayland started to close the gap, but Texas Wesleyan was too far ahead. Back-to-back kills in the last minutes of the set from Richards and Sydney Charlton gave the Rams the 25-20 win. 

In the second set, a close beginning brought to the score tied at nine when Texas Wesleyan took over with a Richards kill. Seven unanswered points later and the Rams led 16-9. A late surge from the Pioneers proved too little too late as Wayland took over with a 22-15 Texas Wesleyan lead. The Rams were able to overcome their errors to finish the set with a 25-21 win.

The third set saw jump out to a quick lead, but the Rams came back to even the score five times before taking a 9-8 lead. Wayland fought with four additional ties, the final one at 23-23 before Wayland capitalized on a Texas Wesleyan attack error and a kill to get the win 25-23. 

In the fourth set, Texas Wesleyan took the early 9-1 lead and never gave up control of the game. The Rams cruised to a 25-11 win and the match, taking the first round win the SAC tournament.

The loss ends Wayland's season, while the second-seeded Rams play in the second round of the tournament and will host either John Brown University or Oklahoma City University. This was the third time the two teams have faced off this season, with Texas Wesleyan winning all three matches.