Women's Volleyball 10/19/2012 1:11:00 AM By Winston Harris

Volleyball Drops Nail Biter at Home

Box Score LAREDO, Texas- The TAMIU Volleyball team committed 37 errors and hit only .131% as a team, while the McMurry War Hawks racked up double digit blocks overtaking the Dustdevils Thursday night in five sets 26-24, 15-25, 28-26, 27-29, and 10-15.

Sophomore Alex Ciszek led the Dustdevils with her eighth double-double, registering 18 kills and 16 digs. Daria Winckler and Andrea Marshall also added double-doubles, Winckler finishing with a game-high 50 assists and 15 digs while Marshall added 17 kills and 13 digs.

The non-conference loss causes the Dustdevils to fall to 11-8 overall, while Mcmurry improves to 12-5.

The Dustdevils jumped out to a 6-2 lead on a hot serving streak by Andrea Marshall in the opening set. McMurry would quietly answer back as they tied the score 10-10. TAMIU looked to be in control as they exchanged blows with the War Hawks, but a few costly errors allowed McMurry to grab a 20-16 lead. The Dustdevils came right back using a 6-0 run, spearheaded by kills from Andrea Marshall and Miranda Pratt to go up 22-20. Both teams continued to go back and forth until TAMIU captured the set with a scorching service ace from Andrea Marshall.

In the second set, Mcmurry came out a totally different team as they grabbed a furious 7-0 lead. The Dustdevils were never able to recover from the early onslaught and dropped the set. Errors plagued the Dustdevils as they committed ten in the second set.

“We struggled a couple times with communication…and we just errored at the wrong time,” said Head Coach Marlon Sano. “

The Dustdevils looked to regroup in third set but once again they were in for a fight. 12 lead changes and 11 ties would occur as TAMIU gritted out a 2-1 match lead.

In the fourth set, TAMIU got off to a promising start, as they obtained the early 3-0 lead highlighted by seniors Jacquelynne Matula and Andrea Marshall’s double-block. The War Hawks would not go away as they tied the score up at 8-8. The Dustdevils extended the lead to 15-10 before Mcmurry went on an 8-2 run to regain the lead at 18-17. The War Hawks would ride that momentum to a grab the fourth set.

The fifth set proved to be disappointing as the Dustdevils errored on six of McMurrys 15 points to drop the set and the match.

When asked about the loss, Coach Sano responded, “You just have to move on, you have to just learn from it and have a short memory… that’s the sign of a championship team.”

In a turn of good fortune, the Dustdevils moved one step closer to their championship aspirations. Conference rival St. Mary’s lost to UT- Permian Basin in straight sets, which puts the Dustdevils a half-game ahead of the Rattlers as they go into Saturday’s conference showdown against UT-Permian Basin starting at 12 p.m.

Print Friendly Version