DENTON, Texas -- Taylor Anderson finished with seven kills on 17 swings without an error, but Midwestern State lost its opening match in the LSC Crossover to Texas A&M International, 21-25, 13-25-, 23-25, Thursday afternoon at Kitty Magee Arena.
Aaliyah Burras and Sadie Portmann recorded early kills as MSU (1-8) jumped out to a 5-1 lead over the Dustdevils (7-3) in the first set.
Emma Lade set up Megan Menchaca for a kill as TAMIU overtook the Mustangs, 13-12. The Dustdevils extended their lead to five points, 21-16, before the Mustangs rallied with a four-point run. Catalina Mackenzie had a pair of crucial kills, and the Dustdevils won four of the last five points to take the first set.
TAMIU recorded kills to win its first eight points of the second set and hit .469 in the middle frame. The Dustdevils committed just two errors with 17 kills on 32 attacks, and the Mustangs trailed by two sets.
Mackenzie, who finished with 17 kills and two aces in the match, led TAMIU during a tightly contested third set. Lade finished with 41 assists and set up Mackenzie for three decisive kills near the end of the third set. The Dustdevils withstood a furious rally by the Mustangs, who won 5-of-6 points to tie the set 22-22, but TAMIU won three of the final four points to secure a straight-set victory.
Burras hit .313 with seven kills on 16 total attacks and committed just two errors for the Mustangs. Portmann paced MSU with 11 kills and had 13 digs. Taygon Jones led MSU with 18 digs, while
Autumn Roach collected 17 assists and 11 digs.
Regan Willms contributed 14 assists and 10 digs in the loss.
MSU returns to the floor at Kitty Magee Arena Friday at 2 p.m. to face Western New Mexico in the second of four matches at the LSC Crossover.
--MSU Mustangs.com--
