BETHANY, Okla. — Texas Wesleyan University (6-7, 3-2 SAC) defeated Southwestern Christian (4-4, 2-4 SAC) 3-1 (25-20, 25-22, 21-25, 25-16) on Friday. Texas Wesleyan recorded 15.0 blocks and held Southwestern Christian to a .067 hitting percentage, including -.056 in the fourth set.
Texas Wesleyan took the first set 25-20, closing the set after turning a 19-18 edge into set point with kills from
Migdaly Bernal and
Faith McClellan and a block by Bernal and
Loes Peijnenburg. Earlier, Texas Wesleyan opened with five straight points on
Lilia Ottenwalder's serve, getting kills from Bernal, Peijnenburg and McClellan before Southwestern Christian worked back to tie the set at 7-7. After Southwestern Christian later moved in front 12-11, Texas Wesleyan answered and pushed ahead again, using a
Florencia Churin kill, two
Neeley Rutledge service aces and back-to-back blocks involving Peijnenburg,
Vanya Palmeros and Churin to build an 18-13 lead. Southwestern Christian trimmed the margin to 19-18, but Texas Wesleyan responded with another late push before Bernal's kill from
Kayla Myers finished the set.
Texas Wesleyan took the second set 25-22, using a seven-of-eight rally stretch in the middle of the set before Southwestern Christian pushed late. Earlier, after Southwestern Christian moved ahead 3-1, Texas Wesleyan answered with a McClellan/
Loes Peijnenburg block, a
Migdaly Bernal kill from Myers and a McClellan kill from Myers to go in front 4-3. Texas Wesleyan later turned a 5-4 lead into 12-5, with
Loes Peijnenburg and Bernal supplying kills, a Bernal/
Malaya Young block contributing to the stretch and Churin finishing it with a kill from
Lillian Breaux. Southwestern Christian cut the margin to 12-11, but
Madison Grekstas ended that stretch with a kill and added two more kills as Texas Wesleyan rebuilt the lead to 18-13. Bernal and McClellan had kills during the closing stretch, Young put Texas Wesleyan at set point with a kill from Breaux, and a Southwestern Christian service error closed the set.
Texas Wesleyan put together multiple responses in the third set, but Southwestern Christian closed out a 25-21 set win. Earlier, after falling behind 6-4, Texas Wesleyan scored five straight points, getting a Young kill from
Lillian Breaux, a
Vanya Palmeros kill from Breaux and a
Madison Grekstas kill from Palmeros to move ahead 9-6. Southwestern Christian answered to tie the set at 9-9 and later moved in front 13-10, but Texas Wesleyan kept cutting back in with a
Chase Silva kill from Myers, a block by Tamara Blakely and Young, and a
Loes Peijnenburg ace during the middle stretch. Down 21-17 late, Texas Wesleyan again pulled within one behind a Churin kill from Ottenwalder and consecutive blocks involving Churin, Young and Palmeros before Southwestern Christian took four of the final five points to finish the set.
Texas Wesleyan broke open the fourth set by winning seven of eight rallies from a 15-13 lead to a 22-14 advantage, using a Blakely-Young block, a Blakely kill, a Young kill and three consecutive
Jordan Daniell service aces during the stretch. Earlier, Texas Wesleyan fell behind 8-5 but answered with a Young-McClellan block, a McClellan kill, a Southwestern Christian sanction, a Southwestern Christian attack error and a
Neeley Rutledge ace to move ahead 10-8. Southwestern Christian tied the set at 10-10, but McClellan responded with a kill, and Texas Wesleyan added blocks involving Churin,
Loes Peijnenburg, Blakely and Young while building its margin. Texas Wesleyan reached set point on a
Loes Peijnenburg-Blakely block and, after a Southwestern Christian point, closed the 25-16 set win on a McClellan kill from
Lillian Breaux.
McClellan led Texas Wesleyan with 12 kills, hit .320 and added three total blocks.
Loes Peijnenburg posted eight total blocks, six kills and two service aces.
Neeley Rutledge collected 15 digs and added three service aces and five assists. Young contributed seven total blocks and four kills while hitting .250.
The Rams travel to Oklahoma City to take on the Stars on Saturday, September 19 at 1pm.
