CANYON, Texas (KFDA) – West Texas A&M senior Taytum Stow became the program’s all-time leader in solo blocks Tuesday night as the #14 Lady Buffs defeated Lubbock Christian 3-2 (23-25, 25-23, 25-23, 20-25, 15-11).
The victory extended West Texas A&M’s win streak to 10 matches while ending Lubbock Christian’s 15-match winning streak in Lone Star Conference action.
First set sees early momentum shifts
West Texas A&M opened with Currie Marusak serving and took an early lead on a Lubbock Christian error.
The visitors responded with a service ace and kills to build an 8-3 advantage.
The Lady Buffs fought back with kills from Parker Gladhill and Emma Becker.
Stow’s blocks and Marusak’s attacks helped West Texas A&M tie the set multiple times, including at 20-20.
Lady Buffs take control in second set
Lubbock Christian opened the second set with a service ace, but West Texas A&M responded with a kill from Gladhill.
The Lady Buffs went on a 4-1 run with kills from Stow and Becker and a block by Stow to lead 8-4.
Kills by Marusak and Bromli Watson extended the lead to 17-14.
A late kill by Kaycee Cavanaugh and another by Marusak secured the set victory.
Third set remains tight throughout
Cavanaugh opened the third set with a kill, but Lubbock Christian built a 4-1 lead.
A service ace by Becker helped level the score at 5-5.
The Lady Buffs tied the game 11-11 on a service ace by Casey Loewer.
A block from Cavanaugh and Stow sparked a late run, with consecutive kills by Cavanaugh and a service ace from Hannah Pemberton closing the set.
Lubbock Christian forces fifth set
West Texas A&M opened the fourth set with a 3-0 lead on kills by Becker and Stow, both assisted by Watson.
The Lady Buffs extended their advantage to 6-2 and later led 15-7 after blocks by Stow and a kill by Cavanaugh.
Lubbock Christian rallied to tie the set 18-18 and took control with a scoring run that led to a 25-20 victory.
Lady Buffs close out match in fifth set
After falling behind 2-0 in the decisive set, a kill by Becker sparked a West Texas A&M response that included contributions from Cavanaugh and Stow to tie the score 3-3.
The Lady Buffs moved ahead 8-7 on an attack error and a block by Gladhill.
West Texas A&M closed the match with a 5-0 run highlighted by kills from Becker and Marusak for the 15-11 victory.
Head coach Terry Gamble said the match had momentum swings throughout.
“It kind of went up and down because up 18-11, as good as we are in set four, we should not have gave that up and we kind of lost focus and made some errors,” Gamble said.
“To fight back in set five and being down 8-11 in set five, and then just go on a seven-point streak… I’m so proud of these guys, and it’s a great effort.”
Statistical leaders
Marusak led West Texas A&M with 22 digs and contributed 20.5 points.
Stow posted nine total blocks and 22 points.
Becker added 19 digs and 18 points, while Pemberton collected 26 digs.
West Texas A&M travels to Odessa on Friday to face UT Permian Basin at 6 p.m. in Lone Star Conference action.
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