Volleyball wins championship

Matthew Watkins • September 11, 2012

The Prairie.

The No. 14 WTAMU Lady Buffs volleyball team went to Denver, Colo. to participate in the Colorado Premiere Challenge on Sept. 7-8. The Lady Buffs defeated four teams – three of which were top 10-ranked teams – to take the Colorado Premiere championship.

WT’s first opponent in the tournament on Sept. 7 was fifth-ranked Central Missouri. The Lady Buffs went on an early 6-1 run that gave them a 13-8 lead that they would turn into a 25-21 first-set win. Both teams would go on several runs in the second set, but WT would take the set 25-23 with a late 5-1 run. The Lady Buffs would sweep the match by going on a 5-1 run while trailing 22-20 in the third set, winning the set 25-23.

WT’s next opponent was tenth-ranked Metro State. The Lady Buffs took the first set by going on an 11-2 run while down 17-14 for a 25-19 win. WT jumped out to a quick 10-6 lead in the second set and held on to the lead to win a back-and-forth set 25-19. The Lady Buffs took control of the third set with a 10-4 run that made the score 21-14 and WT completed the sweep by a 25-20 score.

“The players made a decision to start ‘buying in’ and making some changes,” Head Coach Jason Skoch said.

The Lady Buffs took on West Florida in a match that took all five sets on Sept. 8. WT won the match by scores of 32-30, 23-25, 23-25, 25-19 and 15-10. The Lady Buffs went on a 7-1 run in the fifth set while trailing 9-8 to clinch the match.

WT played No. 3-ranked Tampa on Sept. 8 for the Colorado Premiere crown. The Lady Buffs took advantage of a late rally to win the first set 27-25. While ahead 11-8, the Lady Buffs went on a 14-2 run to win the second set by a 25-10 score.

After a 12-2 run in the third set put WT up 22-14, the Lady Buffs were able to hold off Tampa to complete the sweep by winning the set 27-25.

Three Lady Buffs were named to the All-Tournament team: senior Lauren Beville, redshirt freshman Laura Iwuchukwu and tournament MVP and senior Lacy Hayes.

WT returns to action against Lone Star Conference rival Abilene Christian at The Box in Canyon on Sept. 14 at 7 p.m.