WICHITA FALLS, Texas — Midwestern State lost to St. Mary's (TX) 3-1 on Saturday, falling 15-25, 25-21, 23-25, 23-25. The Mustangs won the second set but hit .166 for the match while the Rattlers finished with a 56-48 advantage in kills.
The Mustangs stayed within reach early behind kills from
Isabella Dickens and
Jaiden Wright, but StMU created separation with a six-point stretch that moved the set from 9-6 to 15-6. Earlier, Dickens put down two kills off
Macy Scheer assists as MSU answered several sideouts, and Wright added another kill to make it 7-5. The Mustangs got a brief response later with
Brynn Metoyer's kill, a Rattlers attack error and a Scheer service ace to close to 19-10. Dickens and
TaNia Penn added late kills for the Maroon & Gold, but StMU finished the opening set with a 25-15 win.
MSU broke a 21-21 tie by scoring the final four points of the second set, getting two late points involving Dickens — a kill to move ahead 22-21 and the set-ending kill — to finish a 25-21 win. Earlier, the Mustangs answered a 2-1 deficit with kills from
Nyle Mathis and Metoyer, then moved from a 3-3 tie to a 6-3 lead with
Giselle Cazares serving. The Rattlers later pushed ahead 9-8, but the Maroon & Gold kept responding through the middle of the set with kills from
Remi Madison, Wright and Mathis as the teams traded points. The Mustangs led 21-19 after a Metoyer kill and a StMU attack error, absorbed a two-point answer that tied the set, then closed it with Dickens, a Penn-Dickens block and the final Dickens swing.
The Maroon & Gold pushed the third set to 23-23 on back-to-back late responses, with Dickens putting down kills at 22-22 and 23-23, before StMU scored the final two points for a 25-23 set. Earlier, Metoyer helped the Mustangs stay even through the opening stretch with kills at 1-1, 3-3 and 13-13, while Penn, Mathis and Madison added points during a set that repeatedly returned to a tie. MSU moved ahead 15-14 on a Rattlers attack error and later answered a 21-19 deficit with consecutive points to level the set at 21-21. Dickens' late swings kept the Mustangs within one point twice in the closing stretch, but StMU finished the set with a block and a service ace.
MSU fought back from a 21-18 deficit in the fourth set, using a Rattlers service error, a Mathis kill and a Mathis-Wright block to tie it at 21-21 before staying even again at 22-22 and 23-23. Earlier, the Mustangs answered a 4-1 start by StMU with kills from Madison and Metoyer and an opponent attack error to pull even at 4-4. Dickens helped the Maroon & Gold keep trading points through the middle of the set, recording kills that put the Mustangs at 6-6, 7-6 and 8-7, while Mathis, Metoyer and Penn added swings as the set tightened. Maxime Pheasant later served an ace to tie the set at 18-18, but the Rattlers responded and ultimately scored the final two points after the 23-23 tie to take the set 25-23.
Dickens led the Mustangs with 13 kills while hitting .357 and adding two block assists. Scheer finished with 23 assists, 10 digs and a service ace. Madison recorded a team-high 14 digs and added four kills. Wright contributed seven kills and four block assists.
