WICHITA FALLS, Texas — Midwestern State won 10 of the last 13 points in the fourth set to force a decisive fifth set against UT Tyler on Saturday afternoon at D.L. Ligon Coliseum. The Patriots prevailed 15-7 in the final set to end the Mustangs' five match winning streak.
Midwestern State is 11-9 this season with a 6-3 conference record, while UT Tyler improved to 15-3 overall and upped its conference record to 6-2.
Nyle Mathis led the Mustangs with 17 kills and 18.0 points, adding four digs and a solo block.
Macy Scheer finished with 48 assists, five service aces and five digs.
Jenna Redding collected a team-high 15 digs and added four assists.
Isabella Dickens added 14 kills while hitting .324 and totaled 15.0 points.
The Mustangs' key push in the opening set came after they trailed 11-8, as
Aaliyah Toppin delivered three kills around an
Isabella Dickens kill to move the home side in front 12-11. After the Patriots tied it at 12-12,
TaNia Penn and Dickens answered with kills to give MSU a 14-12 lead. Earlier, the Maroon & Gold answered a 2-0 start by UTT with a Dickens kill from Scheer to tie it 2-2, and Scheer's service ace later pulled the set even at 6-6. When the Patriots came back to 18-18, Mathis put MSU ahead with a kill, and the team added late kills from Penn, Dickens and Toppin before Dickens closed the 25-22 set win with another kill from Scheer.
The Mustangs were even at 8-8 in the second set before the Patriots scored six straight points to move ahead 14-8, creating the separation in a 25-15 set. Earlier, Toppin put down three kills with assists from Scheer, and MSU also benefited from UTT errors to trade points through a series of ties.
Jaiden Wright ended the Patriots' run with a kill from Scheer, and Scheer later assisted kills by Toppin, Dickens and Mathis as the Mustangs tried to answer. UTT kept the margin by converting MSU attack errors and finishing points at the net, then scored the final three points to close the set.
The Mustangs moved in front 22-20 late in the third set, but the Patriots scored the final five points to take the set 25-22. Earlier, MSU answered a 3-0 opening deficit with kills from Dickens and Mathis, then went ahead 7-6 on a block by Penn and Wright. After UTT built a 15-10 lead, the Maroon & Gold pulled back within 15-13 behind two Patriots attack errors and a
Giselle Cazares service ace. The Mustangs kept pressing after trailing 19-17, using two more UTT errors, a Wright block and a bad set to build the 22-20 edge before the Patriots' closing run ended the set.
MSU broke open the fourth set with two four-point service stretches, first turning a 15-15 tie into a 19-15 lead behind three Scheer aces and then pushing from 20-17 to 24-17 with
Nylah Lewis at the service line. Earlier, the Mustangs faced a 4-0 deficit before Mathis helped steady the set with early kills, and Scheer's first ace pulled the set even at 5-5. Toppin, Dickens and Wright added kills as MSU moved in front through the middle of the set, while the Patriots answered with aces to briefly lead 15-14. Mathis tied it at 15-15, Scheer's serve created separation, and late kills from Wright and Penn brought the Mustangs to set point before Wright finished the 25-18 set win.
The Mustangs recovered from a 3-0 deficit in the fifth set and moved in front 5-4, using a Patriots service error, blocks involving Wright, Scheer and Mathis, and a Mathis kill set by
Jenna Redding. UTT answered with eight straight points, turning that MSU lead into a 12-5 deficit behind kills from Miley Myers, Alyson Robbins and Kailey Manes, a service ace and three Mustangs attack errors. The Maroon & Gold broke the run with a Wright kill from Scheer, and Lewis followed with a service ace to make it 12-7. The Patriots closed with the final three points, taking the set 15-7.
Up next, the Mustangs host Texas A&M Kingsville on Friday, Oct. 16, at 6 p.m. in Wichita Falls, Texas.
-- MSUMustangs.com --
