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LUBBOCK, Texas – After stacking the schedule with stout West Coast competition in the season-opening Seaside Invitational in San Diego, Calif., the Texas A&M International volleyball team opened its Heartland Conference season on Wednesday in search of its first victory.
Against provisional Heartland member Lubbock Christian, the Dustdevils were forced to wait a little longer. The Lady Chaps swept the Dustdevils, 3-0 (25-22, 25-23, 25-20), in Lubbock in front of 225 onlookers at the Rip Griffin Center.
With the loss, TAMIU falls to 0-5 on the season while LCU improves to 2-3.
Despite the lopsided result, none of the games were blowouts. It was completely the opposite, with the first two games being decided by a combined five points and the final game seeing only a five point difference between the teams.
The Dustdevils were led offensively by team captain Miranda Pratt’s .316 hitting percentage and senior Desiree Ortiz’s .333 hitting percentage. Pratt recorded eight kills, one ace and three blocks while Ortiz had a kill and an ace.
Alex Ciszek knocked down a team-high nine kills to lead the team with 11.5 points, Tierney Bannon-Coad drilled six and Paige Criss threw down four. Prieto led the Dustdevils with 31 assists, nearly 30 more than the team’s second-highest total of two by Criss.
Pratt scored 11 points.
Ortiz was the only Dustdevil with double-digit digs, shoveling 15 balls with Prieto (7), Ciszek (5) and Sophia Quinones (4) following.
The match featured 15 game-tying plays and 11 lead changes, illustrating the closer-than-it-appeared nature of the match, despite the scoreline.
TAMIU will next play a Heartland competition against the University of Texas of the Permian Basin on Thursday (7 p.m.) before returning to Lubbock on Friday, Saturday and Sunday to participate in the Heartland/Lone Star Conferences Crossover tournament, hosted by LCU.
The Dustdevils open their home season on Sept. 19 against Heartland foe St. Edward’s at 7 p.m. in the Kinesiology and Convocation Building.
