Volleyball falls short in LSC semifinals
By Shelby Baker
After one of the best seasons volleyball has had in the past decade, the Pioneers fell to No. 11 Angelo State in the LSC championship semifinals.
TWU dug deeply to win the quarter finals against Texas A&M-Commerce, ending the game with a final score of 3-1. Match scores were 25-19, 25- 17, 23-25, and 25-18 to move on to the semifinals in hopes of continuing to the finals.
“I just wish we were on that plane and leaving for the first round of the NCAA Regionals this week,” head volleyball coach Shelly Barberee stated. ”Our conference got Angelo State (ranked No. 11 nationally) and West Texas A&M into the NCAA tournament. I was proud of the way our team fought.”
According to the news release, junior Courtnee Davis had 14 kills, sophomore Hannah Marshall added 27 assists and together with sophomore Morgan Wilson, the three accomplished 43 digs for TWU.
In the first set, the Pioneers fell by 11 points after ASU built an 18-11 lead, but recovered to win the second set by building an eight-point lead and recording a .317 hitting percentage. While the third set also went to ASU, TWU held their own in the fourth, fighting to push to a fifth set. However, the final set went to Angelo State by four points, though the rest of the set was anyone’s game until then.
“I think I had witnessed two double-doubles (statistically) in my first nine years at TWU,” Barberee continued, “and Viktoria Jablonska had nine this season alone. Our 23-8 record was the best since our coaching staff has been at TWU, and I think it says a lot about our support and crowd enthusiasm that we finished 13-2 at home this year.”
