CANYON, Texas -- No. 5-ranked West Texas A&M played well in front of more than 1,500 fans on a "Dig Pink" night at WTAMU Fieldhouse. The Lady Buffs defeated Midwestern State, 3-0, and improved to 10-0 at "The Box" this season.
The Lady Buffs won their sixth straight match since suffering a five-set loss at Dallas Baptist in the conference opener. WT won the first point in the 42nd all-time meeting, and the crowd proceeded to "paint the floor pink." The floor was not actually painted, but it was covered with pink streamers thrown by the fans.
The Mustangs were able to stay close early.
Riley Rabedeaux spearheaded a three-point run with a kill and a service ace. A kill by freshman
Isabella Dickens tied the set 5-5. West Texas A&M won seven of the next eight points to take a 12-6 lead.
Senior outside hitter Torrey Miller had four kills and a block assist to lead the Lady Buffs during a seven-point run as they took a 20-8 lead. Rabedeaux would get one more kill in the set, and Arianna Fields had three kills late in the opening set, but WT hit .429 and coasted to a 25-12 win.
West Texas A&M continued to play at high level in the second set and hit .500 en route to a 25-13 victory. Sophomore outside hitter Emma Becker opened the set with three kills. Brynne Wright added two kills as WT established a 5-1 lead.
Junior setter Blair Moreland capped off a four-point run with the first of five service aces in the set for the Lady Buffs, who took a 9-2 lead. Emma Patterson had two aces in the set. Carly Wright and Bryli Contreras each served an ace in the second set. Midwestern State hit .153 in the frame after posting a .053 attack percentage in the first set.
Midwestern State got off to a strong start in the third set, establishing a 6-3 lead.
Sadie Portmann returned to the floor for the first time since the season opener and had three kills early in the third set, assisted by
Brooke Parker, who also assisted
Lauryn Bourne and
Koryn Johnson early in the third set. Parker set up Rabedeaux to give the Mustangs a 10-9 lead in the third set.
The Mustangs had 12 kills in the third set and hit .265 but could not keep pace with the defending national champions. WT posted an attack percentage of .500 in the final set. The Lady Buffs won 16 of the final 23 points in a 25-17 victory.
Parker finished with 18 assists for the Mustangs. Rabedeaux led MSU with five kills, and
Kimora Carter hit .400 with four kills on 10 swings. Fields finished with four kills.
Jaiden Wright, Bourne, Parker and Portmann all terminated three points. Portmann hit .250 in her return to action. Parker hit .500 without an attack error. Bourne led Midwestern State with 10 digs. Wright had the only block of the match for the Mustangs.
West Texas hit a remarkable .469 for the match, led by Becker, who finished with 11 kills on 16 swings and hit .625. Wright hit .562 with nine kills, and Miller hit .538 with eight kills on 13 swings. Camy Jones was 7 of 10 without an attack error, and Kelsey Carpenter was 6 of 11 without an attack error. Carly Evetts finished with five kills on eight attacks and hit .500. WT remains undefeated in "The Box" this season with 10 victories and improved to 16-2 overall with a 6-1 conference record.
Midwestern State is 4-15 with a 1-6 conference record and travels to Lawton, Oklahoma, to renew the Red River Rivalry with the Cameron Aggies on Saturday. The Aggies are coming off a 3-0 loss to Texas Woman's and are 3-17 overall with a 0-7 conference record.
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--MSUMustangs.com--
