FULLERTON, CALIF. —The Texas Wesleyan Volleyball team completed play this weekend at the Summer Slam Tournament hosted by Hope International University.
 
On Friday the Rams fell to the University of Saint Katherine (17-25, 18-25, 25-22,13-25) and to Vanguard University (19-25, 18-25, 17-25). The next day they bounced back with wins over Rocky Mountain College (28-26, 23-25, 25-10, 25-23) and Life Pacific University (25-23, 25-18, 25-23).
 
Game One – TXWES 1, USK 3

Saint Katherine had a solid offense attack in the match hitting .320 while the Rams hit only .153 in the four-set loss. Texas Wesleyan would build some momentum with a second set victory, but their opponents would ultimately take control of the match to win. The Rams were beaten in every category by their opponents in the loss with their highest hitting percentage coming in the second set at .258. Hannah Rubis led TXWES with 16 kills and Ruby O'brien recorded 26 assists against Saint Katherine. Andrea Malek led all players in digs with 16. 
 
Game Two – TXWES 0, Vanguard 3 
 
The Rams would fall short fell short in their second match of the day to the Lions of Vanguard University In straight sets. The Lions would strike first with seven straight points on the scoreboard in the first set. After a timeout the Rams would respond nicely with an 8-1 stretch of their own to claim a 9-8 lead.  The two teams would continue to battle to a 12-12 tie where Vanguard would get some breathing space with a 5-0 streak. The Rams would battle back, cutting the lead to one point at 18-17, but that would be as close as the set got. Vanguard would take set one 25-20 hitting .139 as the Rams hit .056 in the first. The Rams would continue to battle with the Lions, but never quite found their footing and would go on to lose the next two sets.
 
Senior America Galvan had a season high of 12 digs against Vanguard and Emily Lewis led the way with 4 aces.   Carly Unruh and Sydney Charlton would each have two solo blocks on the match.
 
Game Three – TXWES 3, RMC 1 
 
The Rams began Saturday against Rocky Mountain College In a close first set. The Rams would an early 11-6 lead capped off by a Makenna Gantt kill. After a few errors from the Rams, the Bears regrouped themselves and found their back into the set. The two teams began trading two and three point runs all the way to a 24-24 tie. Carly Unruh came up big with two consecutive attack attempts and help the Rams secure a 28-26 set one victory. 
 
The Bears responded well in the second set, as the game was closely contested until they broke out to a 17-13 lead. The Rams would answer with two service aces and a couple of kills to take the lead at 23-21. Just when it seemed like the Rams were able to take control of the set, the Bears came storming back and took the second set 23-25.
The third set was all Texas Wesleyan as the Rams jumped out to a quick 16-6 lead Never letting off the gas, Texas Wesleyan finished a third set victory at 25-10. The Rams would hit .324 off 14 kills and 2 errors.
 
 Much like the first two sets the teams battled hard against each as the Bears looked to force a deciding set. The Rams would control throughout, heading into the home stretch with a 22-18 lead. The Bears rallied together for three straight points, but the Rams stood tall and were able to secure a four-set victory at 25-23. 
 
Sydney Alexanders had 12 kills on the match followed by Sydney Charlton and Kendal King with 10 of their own. Ruby O'Brien and Makenna Gannt had 23 assists each and Andrea Malek led all players with a whooping 43 digs.
 
Game Four – TXWES 3, LPU 0

The Rams finished the tournament strong with a sweep against LPU. They won the first two sets behind double digit kills in each of the frames. They finished the match with a .212 hitting percentage in the third set by tallying 17 kills and only six errors.

Overall, the Rams had 43 kills for a hitting percentage of .150. LPU totaled 33 kills for a hitting percentage of .135.
Kendal King led the Rams with 11 kills and Hannah Rubis added 11 kills of her own in the win. Makenna Gannt assisted on 16 plays for the Rams. TXWES had a total of 71 digs, led by Andrea Malek with 22. Emily Lewis and Makenna Gannt tallied 12 digs each giving Gannt her second double-double performance of the season.
 
The Rams make their debut at the Sid Richardson Center this season to host the Lions of Langston University in a Sooner Athletic Conference matchup at 6 p.m.  Friday, Aug.1.