NATCHITOCHES, La. – Needing a win to keep their postseason hopes alive, the East Texas A&M University volleyball team won 3-0 at Northwestern State on Thursday night at the Prather Coliseum.
The Lions hit .308 with 49 kills while holding the Lady Demons to .184 hitting and 41 kills. The Lions' .308 hitting percentage was above their season average of .22.
East Texas A&M set a new Division I era record with 12 wins on the season, while improving to 12-16 overall. The Lady Demons fall to 14-16 overall. Both teams are 6-9 in Southland Conference play heading into the regular season finale. The winner of Saturday's match between the two teams on Saturday in Commerce advances to next week's Southland tournament.
The Lady Demons broke a 5-5 tie with three straight points, before the Lions worked back to 11-11 on a Northwestern State service error and a kill from
Samantha Mosley (Atlanta). After NSU moved ahead 12-11,
Gracie Campbell (Klein Oak) tied the set with a kill, and the Lions added four more points behind a
Katelyn Pritchard (McAllen) ace, another Campbell kill and a block by
Sediong Scott (Houston – Elsik) and
Skylar Lambert (Aledo) for a 16-12 lead. The Lady Demons cut the margin to 17-15, but the Lions kept answering through kills from
Ariana Brown (Conroe),
Sabine Wenzel (Melrose, Mass.), Mosley, Scott and Campbell. Campbell's kill made it 23-20, Scott followed with a kill for set point, and Brown finished the opening set at 25-20.
After the Demons scored the first point of the second set, the Lions took the next four behind kills from Wenzel and Campbell, a block by Wenzel and Campbell and an Brown ace for a 4-1 lead. The Lions stayed in front through 13-11 with kills from Mosley, Brown and Campbell, but the Lady Demons scored three straight to move ahead 14-13. After Northwestern State later led 18-16, a Wenzel kill and consecutive Mosley kills moved the Lions back in front 19-18 before a sanction tied the set at 19-19. The Lions trailed 21-20 late but went back ahead on two Lady Demon attack errors, got kills from Scott and Campbell to reach 24-22, and closed the set on a Northwestern State service error for a 25-23 win.
Brown's opening kill from Pritchard helped the Lions take the first two points, but Northwestern State came back with a stretch to go in front 8-4. The Lions erased the gap with a five-point run, with
Jade Washington (Waco – Midway) serving an ace before Mosley and Campbell kills tied the set and Campbell's next kill put them ahead 9-8. After Northwestern State tied it at 10-10, the Lions scored the next four points, including kills by Brown and Washington, and later held a 17-12 lead before the Lady Demons cut it to 17-15. The Lions moved to 22-17 on kills by Campbell and Mosley, and after NSU got within 23-20, Campbell's kill brought up set point before Brown finished the 25-20 set win.
Campbell led the Lions with 15 kills and 15.5 points while hitting .382. Campbell's 15 kills were above her season average of 11.33. Brown finished with 13 kills on a .462 hitting percentage and added 10 digs. Brown's 13 kills were above her season average of 12.19. Washington collected 18 digs and added four assists and a service ace. Washington has recorded at least 18 digs in five consecutive matches.
Jill Vinal (A&M-Consolidated) recorded 23 assists and nine digs. Vinal has recorded at least 23 set assists in two consecutive matches. Scott recorded four blocks, above her season average of 3.04. Wenzel has recorded at least three total blocks in five consecutive matches. Mosley has recorded at least four total blocks in five consecutive matches.
UP NEXT
The Lions and the Lady Demons close out the regular season at 1 p.m. on Saturday in the Field House, which is also Senior Day for the Lions. Tickets can be purchased at
LionAthletics.com/tickets.
-ETAMU-
