Nov. 9, 2011
Final Stats
San Antonio, Texas - The Texas A&M International University Volleyball team tied a season high with 31 attack errors Tuesday night, en route to a 3-1 loss (25-21, 11-25, 15-25, 15-25) to the University of the Incarnate Word. The Cardinals defense was stifling racking up 15 total blocks and holding the Dustdevils to their third lowest attack percentage of the season (.037).
"I'm disappointed right now because when we defeated Dallas Baptist to clinch a spot in the Heartland Conference Tournament, we were playing at a very high level and we haven't been able to sustain that level in our final two matches," said Head Coach Al Givens. "Last night was an opportunity for us to work on some things that would assist us in the tournament and it appears we still have to address those issues in practice. Incarnate Word responded really well after dropping the first set, they put a lot more pressure on us with their serving game and we didn't take care of the serve with the same kind of execution we had in the first set which put us on the defensive end."
Outside hitter Andrea Marshall led the attack for TAMIU, picking up her team leading 20th double-double of the season recording 15 kills and 14 digs. Marshall has now posted double-doubles in eight consecutive matches. Miranda Pratt was the only other Dustdevil to finish with double-digit kills finishing with eleven in the match. Libero Desiree Ortiz finished with a match high 25 digs, while setter Daria Winckler recorded a match high 33 assists.
Backed by 14 kills and a .379 attack percentage, TAMIU jumped out in front early in the match winning the opening set 25-21. Marshall had a game high seven kills followed by Miranda Pratt with three and Katrina Zens with two. From that point it was all Cardinals, as TAMIU finished with a combined attack percentage of -.057 in the final three sets.
In the second set Incarnate Word jumped out to an 8-0 lead and cruised to a 25-11 win, tying the match at one. The third set was equally frustrating as TAMIU finished with nine attack errors and only six kills, en route to a 25-15 loss. The Cardinals put the Dustdevils away in the fourth set winning 25-15, with the Dustdevils committing 9 attack errors and picking up only seven kills.
TAMIU concludes the regular season with an overall record of 14-17, 8-6 in the Heartland Conference and the fourth seed heading into the Conference Tournament. The Dustdevils will take on the number one seed and host St. Edwards Friday afternoon at 1 p.m.
