The Midwestern State Lady Mustangs fought their way back to a fifth set victory Saturday afternoon against the Texas A&M-Kingsville Lady Javelinas, 3-2 (22-25, 25-22, 26-28, 25-21, 15-10).
Strong play from the Lady Mustangs contributed to the win almost as much as errors from Kingsville did. The Lady Mustangs (3-9, 1-3) had four players with double digit kills. Beatriz Villalba (16 digs) and Michelle Blount both had 11 kills, while Caitlin Wallace and Shelbi Stewart (23 digs) each had 10. Courtney Haney led MSU with 33 assists.
After four tough sets that went back and forth, the Lady Mustangs were able to start the final set 4-2 after Wallace and Kasey Decker combined to block Kelsee Felux’s attempted kill at the net. The Lady Javelinas fought their way back to a 7-6 defecit. After a kill from Haney off of an assist from Kristan Aduddell, and a couple of Kingsville attack errors, the Lady Mustangs found themselves with a 10-6 lead. The Lady Mustangs never looked back; forcing two more Kingsville attack errors and notching three kills to end the match, including a game-winning kill from Caitlin Wallace.
The Lady Mustangs match did not get off to a great start, though; after leading the Lady Javelinas 19-14 in the first set, Kingsville’s Stephanie Johns sparked a 8-0 run that allowed the Lady Javelinas to take a 22-19 lead. A kill from MSU’s Decker and two errors from Kingsville allowed the Lady Mustangs to even the set up. Despite MSU’s hot run, though, attack errors from the Lady Mustangs on the following three points allowed Kingsville to take the first set. MSU came back strong in the second set, turning a 9-9 split into a 25-22 set victory. The Lady Mustangs earned 11 of their last 16 points off of kills or service aces.
The third set proved to be the most grueling of the match, as each team wasn’t able to get the upper hand on the other for most of the match. A kill by Wallace sparked a short 5-1 run for the Lady Mustangs that gave them a 21-16 lead. The Lady Javelinas fought their way back into the set, but the Lady Mustangs were able to push their lead to a 24-22 lead with the set almost in their grasp. Felux scored a kill for Kingsville that was followed by two MSU attack errors to give the Lady Javelinas a 25-24 lead. Despite the Lady Mustangs’ best effort, the Lady Javelinas ran away with the set 28-26 thanks to play from Dedra Brown and Johns.
A reinvigorated MSU team came out for the fourth set, determined not to let another late set comeback take away their victory. After an early 10-10 tie, the Lady Mustangs began to pull away off of a 10-6 run to lead 20-16, before a Kingsville timeout. The Lady Mustangs held their lead and never looked back, ending the set with a 25-21 win that would lead to the eventual match-winning fifth set for the Lady Mustangs.