WICHITA FALLS, Texas -- In a match that featured 19 ties and eight lead changes on Friday night, UT Permian Basin (10-3, 1-1) managed to depart D.L. Ligon Coliseum with its sixth consecutive victory in the all-time series, and all six wins over Midwestern State (3-12, 0-3) have come in straight sets.
UT Permian Basin ended a two-match slide and had lost six consecutive sets before slipping past the Mustangs, 25-22, 25-20, 29-27.
The Falcons won five of six points in the third set to take a 13-8 lead, but the Mustangs would rally late in a set that featured nine ties and four lead changes.
The Mustangs had two set points, but a Chyra Thompson kill and an attack error kept the Mustangs from extending the match.
Thanks to a service error and a
Riley Rabedeaux kill, the Falcons needed three match points to close out the victory.
Lauryn Bourne had 12 kills on 32 swings and led the Mustangs with a .344 hitting percentage. The senior from Cypress, Texas, also had 15 digs for her third straight double-double, and her fourth double-double in five matches.
Freshman
Alayna Guerrero had 23 assists, and junior
Brooke Parker finished with 13 assists for the Mustangs, who hit .132 for the match.
Taygon Jones accounted for 15 digs, while
Koryn Johnson added 12 and Guerrero had 10 for Midwestern State, which totaled 74 digs as a team.
Rabedeaux totaled nine kills on 32 attacks with a .125 attack percentage. Freshman
Isabella Dickens had six kills on 15 swings, hitting .133 for the match. Both Rabedeaux and Dickens had block assists — along with
Koryn Johnson and
Elise Smith, who finished with seven kills on 17 swings and hit .176.
Midwestern State established a 14-9 lead in the opening set, but the Falcons responded with a seven-point run, led by Thompson and Gloria Guerin.
After an April Egwu service error brought Midwestern State to within a point, 23-22, Guerin and Thompson put away kills to secure the opening set.
Both teams had three-point runs at the start of the second set, which had five ties and two lead changes.
A five-point run by the Falcons gave them an 11-7 advantage. Trailing 14-8, Rabedeaux and
Robyn White began to lead a comeback as the Mustangs won five out of seven points. White and Rabedeaux each had two kills during that stretch for MSU.
Grace Feddern, Jenna Gray, Mya Black and Thompson recorded kills as the Falcons won five of seven points to take a six-point lead late in the second set.
MSU reeled off four consecutive points to make it 22-20. After two attack errrors, Devin Alcoser delivered a service ace to give the Falcons a 2-0 lead in the match.
The Falcons hit .187 for the match and had eight blocks en route to the victory.
Midwestern State hosts Angelo State (13-2, 3-0) on Saturday. First serve is scheduled for 2 p.m.
--MSUMustangs.com--
