RRAC WINNING STREAK ENDS AT 31:

RAMS RECOVER TO TOP UIW IN FOUR
October 7, 2006

BROWNSVILLE, TX:  Entering Saturday’s action, the Texas Wesleyan University volleyball team was riding a 31-match conference winning streak that began with a 3-0 win over Huston-Tillotson on October 1, 2004.  It was the tenth longest such streak in NAIA history.   The Rams proved themselves to be the dominant program in the Red River Athletic Conference by winning back-to-back conference championships in 2004 and 2005.  During the streak they dropped just two games, taking a total of 29 3-0 wins.  On Saturday it was the conference newcomer UT-Brownsville, in its first season of NAIA competition, that ended the remarkable run.

The match marked the beginning of perhaps the toughest day on the Lady Rams’ schedule.  Texas Wesleyan played UTB in Brownsville at 10:00 a.m. and then traveled to San Antonio for a 7:00 p.m. meeting with the University of the Incarnate Word.

UT-Brownsville improved to 4-0 in conference play and 10-9 overall by taking a 3-0 win at home with scores of 30-28, 30-22, and 30-23.  The Rams led game one early on, but UT-Brownsville fought back for the 30-28 win, and went on to control the final two games.

Sandra Ayala led the Rams with 12 kills while Liz Meng finished with 10 of her own.

In the late game of Texas Wesleyan’s day-night double header, the Rams rebounded for a 3-1 win with scores of 30-23, 28-30, 30-24, and 30-28 over Incarnate Word.  In the opening game, the Rams led wire-to-wire on their way to the 30-23 win.

Incarnate word took a hard fought win in game two, but the Rams regained control in game three.  In game four, Texas Wesleyan was in trouble early.  Incarnate word led 7-1 and then took their largest lead of the match at 10-2.  The Lady Rams rattled off six consecutive points to tie the game at 13, and eventually scratched out a 20-17 lead.  UIW rallied again to take a 27-25 lead, but Texas Wesleyan went on a 5-1 run to end the match.

Ayala again led the Rams with 19 kills.  Jennifer Irwin notched a career-high 49 assists, while Erinn Miller had a career high six service aces.  Jessica Colliau led the defense with 25 digs.

The Lady Rams’ record now stands at 13-6 (3-1 RRAC).  They will return to the Sid Richardson Center this weekend.  They will host College of the Southwest on Friday, October 13 at 7:00 p.m., and will take on Huston-Tillotson University at 11:00 a.m. on Saturday.