WICHITA FALLS, Texas — Midwestern State extended its winning streak to five matches with a 3-2 (21-25, 25-16, 25-18, 23-25, 15-12) win over UT Dallas at D.L. Ligon Coliseum on Friday night.
The Mustangs finished with 70 kills and 89 digs while hitting .240, compared with 55 kills and a .189 hitting percentage for UTD. MSU also had a season-high 13 blocks.
Midwestern State improved to 11-8 overall with a 6-2 conference record. UT Dallas fell to 8-8 overall, and the Comets are 4-3 in the Lone Star Conference.
Nyle Mathis led the Mustangs with 24 kills and 25.5 points while adding two blocks.
Isabella Dickens finished with 17 kills and a .441 hitting percentage. Dickens was in on seven blocks and finished with 21.5 points.
Macy Scheer recorded 61 assists, seven blocks and seven digs. Scheer reached 1,000 career assists during the match, and
Jenna Redding collected a season-high 28 digs. Redding also had four assists.
MSU faced a 24-16 deficit late in the opening set and answered with five straight kills, all assisted by Scheer, as Mathis put down three before
Jaiden Wright and
TaNia Penn brought the score to 24-21. Earlier, after the Comets opened a 5-1 lead, Mathis recorded four kills over the Mustangs' next five points to help tie the set at 6-6. The Maroon & Gold also worked back from 13-9, with
Aaliyah Toppin starting the push with a kill before
Giselle Cazares served three straight points capped by back-to-back Toppin kills to make it 13-13. UTD later moved from an 18-16 lead to a 24-16 advantage with six straight points, and after MSU's late run, the visitors closed the set 25-21.
The Mustangs turned a 6-5 deficit into a 10-7 lead in the second set, getting a
Jenna Redding service ace, a Comets attack error and kills from Toppin and Dickens during that push. Dickens kept producing from
Macy Scheer's assists, scoring consecutive kills for an 11-7 edge and adding three more as MSU moved ahead 15-10. Penn and Toppin added kills before
Savannah Cummings served an ace for an 18-11 lead, and Penn later answered a brief UTD stretch with a kill from Redding. The Maroon & Gold closed by taking three of the final four points, including
Macy Scheer's kill from Mathis and a final Dickens kill from Scheer, to win the set 25-16.
MSU turned a 5-4 deficit into a 9-6 lead in the third set, getting a Penn kill, a Cummings service ace and three block-assisted points during the stretch. The Mustangs kept adding separation at the net, with Dickens combining on multiple blocks before Mathis delivered consecutive kills for a 15-11 lead. UTD cut into the margin at 18-15, but the Maroon & Gold answered with a Wright kill, then points from Penn and Toppin to reach 21-16. Dickens put the Mustangs at set point with a kill, and Mathis finished the 25-18 set win off a Scheer assist.
The Mustangs rallied from an 11-9 deficit to move ahead 14-12 in the fourth set, getting kills from Toppin and Dickens and a block by Dickens and Scheer during the push. Earlier, Mathis had four kills among the Mustangs' first nine points, while Mathis, Dickens and Scheer also contributed blocks as MSU built an early 6-3 lead before UTD answered. The teams traded momentum through the middle of the set, with Mathis tying it at 15-15, Scheer putting the Maroon & Gold ahead 16-15 and Wright, Penn and Toppin adding kills as the set reached 21-21. MSU took a 22-21 lead on a Comets attack error, but UTD moved to set point at 24-22 and, after a Dickens kill brought the Mustangs within one, closed the set 25-23.
MSU broke an 11-11 tie by winning four of the final five points, with Mathis putting down three Scheer-assisted kills around a Dickens ace to close a 15-12 fifth-set win. Earlier, the set swung point by point, as Wright and Scheer teamed for a block and Scheer added another block to help the Mustangs hold brief 4-3 and 5-4 advantages. The Comets moved in front 8-6, but the Maroon & Gold responded on a UTD service error and a Dickens kill from Scheer to pull even at 8-8. Toppin and Dickens added kills as MSU continued to answer late, and Mathis finished the final push after the Comets had tied the set at 11-11.
Up next, the Mustangs host UT Tyler at. D.L. Ligon Coliseum on Saturday, Oct. 10, at 2 p.m.
-- MSUMustangs.com --
