SAN ANTONIO – Coming back from being down a set twice, the East Texas A&M University volleyball team took a thrilling five-set win over Gonzaga on Saturday morning at the UTSA Convocation Center. The Lions rallied from a two-point deficit in the fifth set to close out a 16-14 set win.
The Lions have now recorded wins over a current member of the Sun Belt, American, Big East, and a PAC-12 conferences. East Texas A&M is 6-3 on the season, while Gonzaga fell to 3-6.
Under fourth-year coach
Joe Morales, the Lions are 13-5 in five-set matches, including 2-0 this season. With four more non-conference matches left in the season, the six wins in non-conference play are the most in the Division I era as well as the most since 2019, the last time East Texas A&M won a conference championship.
Gonzaga created early separation in the first set moving ahead 17-8. The Lions answered with six straight points, starting with an
Ariana Brown (Converse) kill and continuing with kills from
Gracie Campbell (Klein Oak),
Samantha Mosley (Atlanta, Ga.),
Sabine Wenzel Melrose, Mass.) and Brown around a block by Brown and Wenzel to pull within 17-14. Gonzaga responded with four consecutive points to stretch the margin to 21-14, and the Lions later cut it to 23-19 on a Gonzaga error and a Mosley kill. Gonzaga took the final two points, closing the set 25-19.
The Lions started the second set with kills by Campbell and Brown and pushed the margin to 8-2 behind an
Allie Ihloff (Tulsa, Okla.) service ace, a Mullaney ace, a block by Mosley and Wenzel, and a Mosley kill. After Gonzaga got two points, the Lions moved back ahead 12-4 with a Mullaney kill, a Wenzel kill and consecutive Gonzaga attack errors blocked by Wenzel and then Mosley and Wenzel. Gonzaga later cut the score to 17-1, but the Lions answered with an Ihloff kill, an Ihloff ace and a block by Brown and Wenzel to reach 20-11. The Lions closed the set with four straight points from 21-13, getting a Campbell kill, a Brown service ace, a Gonzaga ball-handling error and another Campbell kill to finish a 25-13 set win.
Gonzaga won the first three points, but the Lions stayed within 9-7 with Brown and Campbell kills and an Ihloff service ace among their early points. Ihloff added a kill and Campbell put down back-to-back points to tie the set at 10-10, and Campbell later served an ace before a Mullaney-Ihloff block helped the Lions pull even again at 14-14. Gonzaga moved from a 16-15 edge to a 21-15 lead with five straight points. Mosley and
Sediong Scott (Houston – Elsik) recorded late kills for the Lions, but Gonzaga closed the set 25-17.
Trailing 3-1 in the fourth set, the Lions put together seven straight points to move ahead 8-3, with Mullaney serving an ace, Mosley and Scott combining on consecutive blocks, and Scott adding a kill. Gonzaga stopped the run with a kill, but the Lions kept the set in hand as Campbell recorded three kills during a stretch that pushed the lead to 12-5. Ihloff added a kill and back-to-back service aces as the Lions moved ahead 18-8, and Brown later served an ace during a push to 22-10. Gonzaga scored two straight after the Lions reached set point, but Mosley closed the set with a kill from Mullaney for a 25-13 win.
The fifth set stayed tight early, with Ihloff's service ace tying it 2-2 and the Lions later moving in front 8-6 on a Gonzaga service error. Gonzaga answered after a 10-10 tie, using two Lions attack errors and a Wagstaff kill to build a 13-10 lead. Brown and Mullaney helped the Lions cut it to 13-12 before Gonzaga reached 14-12, but Mosley's kill started a four-point finish. Brown followed with a service ace to tie the set, Gonzaga committed an attack error, and Campbell closed the 16-14 set win with a kill from Mullaney.
Campbell led the Lions with a season-high of 18 kills and added 11 digs, hitting .341.
Jade Washington (Waco – Midway) collected a team-high and season-high of 31 digs and added seven assists. Ihloff served six aces and added six kills. Mosley finished with 11 kills on a .345 hitting percentage and matched the team high with six total blocks. Mosley also recorded a season-high of 14 points.
East Texas A&M achieved a season-high 14 serve aces in the match and posted a hitting percentage of 0.259, above the season average of 0.24. Brown has recorded at least 10 kills in nine consecutive matches, while Scott has achieved at least four total blocks in four consecutive games.
Jill Vinal (A&M-Consolidated) set a season-high with 20 assists, and Mullaney achieved a season-high 12 digs.
Scott was named to the all-tournament team for her performance this weekend at the Roadrunner Classic in San Antonio.
UP NEXT
The Lions travel to Norman, Oklahoma, to face Oklahoma on Tuesday at 6 p.m.
-ETAMU-
