THE RUNDOWN
CANYON, Texas – Midwestern State was swept twice Friday afternoon in 3-0 defeats to West Texas A&M and No. 6 Nebraska-Kearney at the WTAMU Fieldhouse.
 
The Mustangs began the day with their Lone Star Conference opener against WT, being limited to a .153 hitting percentage while the Lady Buffs hit .243 for the afternoon.

In the opening set, the Lady Buffs began pulling away from Midwestern State (5-4, 0-1 LSC) midway through the frame by taking a 16-11 lead. A kill for Rockelle Gholson brought the Mustangs back within three but West Texas A&M responded (6-3, 1-0 LSC) with a quick 4-0 spurt before claiming a 25-19 win.

The Mustangs battled back in the second set after falling behind 9-4, eventually taking a two-point advantage at 17-15 following an Addison Semer kill. However, WT closed out the set on a 6-3 run to claim a narrow 25-22 victory.

The Lady Buffs hit a match-best .300 in the third and final frame, building a 13-4 lead en route to a 25-18 third set win for the sweep.

In a non-conference matchup, Midwestern State hung close to Nebraska-Kearney for a majority of the opening set before the Lopers went on an 8-3 run to pull away and record a 25-16 decision after hitting .310 for the game.

Gholson's three kills early in the second set powered MSU to a 7-5 advantage. The Lopers answered back to knot the set up at 8-8 and put together an 11-2 run before going on to take a 25-17 win and 2-0 lead in the match.

Trailing 21-16 in the third, Midwestern State mounted a comeback by going on a 7-2 run to move in front at 23-22. Semer contributed two blocks and a kill in the spurt before UNK earned match point after back-to-back kills from Julianne Jackson. Kills for Semer and Addy Cook propelled the Mustangs back in front, earning set points at 25-24 and 26-25. However, the Lopers finished off MSU with Tara Ziegelbein coming through for UNK with a kill and block to collect a 28-26 victory for the sweep.

NOTES
- Addy Cook registered her third double-figure kill performance of the season against West Texas A&M with 12 kills on a team-high .259 attacking percentage
- Aerielle Edwards notched the third 20-plus dig outing of her career with 23 against the Lady Buffs
- Kristan Aduddell finished with 29 assists and six digs against WT
- Addison Semer recorded a team-high eight kills with just one hitting error for a .538 percentage against Nebraska-Kearney
- Edwards finished with a team-best 12 digs while Aduddell dished out 18 assists to lead MSU
 
UP NEXT
Midwestern State continues Lone Star Conference play tomorrow at 1 p.m. against UT Permian Basin at the Falcon Dome in Odessa.