Pats volleyball struggle in conference

Patriot’s volleyball split two American Southwest Conference games over the weekend at the Herrington Patriot Center. Thursday night, the Patriots took care of LeTourneau in four games by scores of 23-25, 25-20, 25-16 and 25-14.  On Saturday the Patriots fell to Mississippi in four games.

Hillary Taylor awaits a teammates serve during the Patriots match against LeTourneau. Taylor had 14 digs in the match and three service aces. Photo by Richard Sarmiento.

Against the Lady Jackets on Thursday, the Patriots started out slow and tentative in the game one loss. As the game went on, things started to turn in Tyler’s favor. The Patriots were down to start but rallied to win 25-20. From there, the Lady Jackets began to get worn down and the Patriots took advantage.

Junior Kelsey Winn (#7) spikes a ball past LeTourneau players Kathryn Drinkard and Keasa Johnson (#25) during Thursday night’s match at the Herrington Partriots Center. The Patriots won the match 3-1. Photo by Aaron Balderrama.

In games three and four, the Patriots took big leads early. They had runs of 8-0, 6-2 and 6-3. Danika Waldrep led the Patriots offense with 14 kills and five aces. Amanda Hanson finished the game with nine kills. Kelsey Winn and Melissa Ingebretsen each had eight kills.

Whitney Clements led the team in assists with 30. Waldrep had a team high 16 digs. Hillary Taylor followed with 12 digs. Kathryn Drinkard assisted 35 of the Lady Jackets 39 kills. Kristen Chapman led LeTourneau in kills with 13.

Saturday was the exact opposite for the Patriots. They would lose the first two games 25-18 and 25-22. Tyler avoided the shutout with a 25-17 win in game three, but would fall 25-14 in game four.

Waldrep led the Patriots again in kills with 15. She was followed by Stephanie Pupenbroke, who finished the game with 10 kills. Clements led the team with 23 assists. Taylor had a team high 19 digs.

The Choctaws were led in kills by Jessica Torick and Megan Deen, who each had 11 kills. The Patriots are now 2-8 in conference play, and 8-12 overall.

This weekend the Patriots will participate in the ASC Crossover #2 in Alpine where they will face Texas Lutheran, Concordia, Sul Ross St. and Schreiner. The Patriots are now ranked fifth out of six teams in the ASC East Division.