Nov. 16, 2007

Box Score

KEARNEY, Neb. - After falling in the first game, the Lady Buffs came back to win three consecutive games to beat Lone Star Conference opponent Midwestern State, 3-1 (25-30, 30-24, 30-15, 30-26), in the first round of the NCAA Division II Regionals on Friday. LSC Offensive Player of the Year Laura Prinsen finished the match with 20 kills and nine digs while LSC Co-Setter of the Year Katie Rickwartz dished out 51 assists and a team-high 23 digs.

Junior Kelly Culley and sophomore Melissa Harper tallied 13 kills apiece while freshman Lauren Thedford collected 17 digs and eight kills and junior Sara Contreras had 15 digs.

Game one saw the Mustangs dominate play and win, 30-25. MSU held WT to a frustrating .105 hitting percentage and took a 3-1 lead before West Texas A&M tied it at three apiece; the Lady Buffs could not take the lead, though, as MSU's Jessica Ransom took over the serve and helped the Mustangs roll to an 18-10 lead. The Lady Buffs fought back, going on a five-point run to pull within seven at 27-20, but MSU stayed strong and went on to win.

WTAMU came out hard in game two, taking an early lead and never relinquishing it with the help of nine kills from Prinsen. On a service ace from Prinsen, the Lady Buffs went ahead by an 8-3 margin. Harper notched a service ace to put WT ahead, 12-6, but MSU came back within two at 22-20 forcing a WTAMU time out. The Lady Buffs took the court and rolled to a 30-24 win as Prinsen and Harper combined for five kills. Harper and Culley collected two kills apiece and Rickwartz dished out 11 assists to pick up the game two victory.

In game three, West Texas A&M took the first two points off blocks as sophomore Natalie Johnson and Culley combined for a block assist and Culley notched a solo block to give the Lady Buffs the lead. Back-to-back kills from Harper made it 8-3 in favor of WT, then Thedford made it 9-4 with a big kill as she took over the serve. With the Carrollton, Texas, native serving, WTAMU went on a four-point run to go ahead, 14-4. A big block assist from Harper and Thedford gave West Texas A&M a 20-8 lead, followed by a point-saving dig over the end line by Contreras and an important solo block from Thedford to put the Lady Buffs ahead, 21-9. After a service ace from Prinsen made it 22-9 and forced MSU to call a time out, West Texas A&M finished off the game, 30-15.

Game four was a game of stamina with a number of long rallies as WTAMU won, 30-26. Midwestern State jumped out to a 15-10 lead but WT came back to tie the game at 20 apiece. Another long rally tied the game at 21-21 before West Texas A&M pulled ahead, 23-21, and forced another Midwestern State time out. The Mustangs stayed within one point, tying the game at 24 apiece, then 25 apiece, but Harper gave the Lady Buffs a 27-25 lead when she reached out behind her and knocked down an important kill. Prinsen made it 29-26 and an attack error by the Mustangs ended the game with the Lady Buffs winning by four.

West Texas A&M will face Metro State on Saturday at 5 p.m. in the regional semifinal match; the Roadrunners beat the UC-Colorado Springs Mountain Lions, 3-0, in the first match of the tournament.