Due to their perfect conference record, there was no place like home as the WTAMU Lady Buffs volleyball team hosted the Lone Star Conference volleyball championships from Nov. 21 to Nov. 23. After cruising against Eastern New Mexico on Nov. 21, the Lady Buffs were taken to the brink by Texas A&M-Commerce on Nov. 22 and by Angelo State on Nov. 23 before winning an eighth consecutive LSC Championship.
“It was really hard [to win the LSC championship],” redshirt senior outside hitter Laura Iwuchukwu said. “At times, we were up and down. But we just wanted to defend The Box and be able to get another conference title. So we kept fighting – all the way through.”
On Nov. 21, The Lady Buffs squared off with Eastern New Mexico in the opening round. Aided by the 11 kills, four digs, and four blocks of sophomore middle blocker Lexi Davis and Iwuchukwu’s 11 kills, two digs, and five blocks, the Lady Buffs made quick work of the Zias. Junior setter Kameryn Hayes provided 33 assists for the Lady Buffs, as WT swept Eastern New Mexico 25-15, 25-17 and 25-7.
While the Zias were a cakewalk for the Lady Buffs, the Lions of Texas A&M-Commerce awaited WT in the semi-finals match on Nov. 22. After defeating Tarleton State in five sets, two of which went to extra points, the Lions would give the Lady Buffs a run for their money. The Lions would begin the first set took advantage of the blocking of the Lady Buffs on the far side, as Commerce would go on to take the set, 25-21. The Lady Buffs would reply in kind by charging to an early lead, before the Lions would spark a spirited rally, eventually tying the Lady Buffs at 14 points. The Lady Buffs would retake the lead and never looked back as they take the second set, 25-21.
“It’s something that we try to focus on, is communication,” Iwuchukwu said, as the Lady Buffs dealt with miscommunication during the A&M-Commerce match and how WT alleviated the issue. “It helps us play so much better. I guess we struggled with that during the Commerce game, but we wanted to change that to make [the Angelo State match] so much better.”
The intensity from the first two sets would continue into the third set, as the Lady Buffs and Lions would eventually tie the set at 8 points even. The Lions would retake the lead from Lady Buff miscues before WT would even the mark at 15. While the Lady Buffs would forge ahead, they would allow the Lions to come back and defeat the Lady Buffs in extra points, 27-25. The fourth set is where the Lady Buffs caught fire, thundering to a 10-3 start. The Lions would refuse to go quietly, coming within three points and prompting WT to take a timeout. A&M-Commerce would continue to chip away at the Lady Buff lead before senior outside hitter Halie Harton would come up with two kills and a service ace to ignite a flurry of Lady Buff points to create an 18-10 gap. The Lions would respond with fierce exchanges before yielding to the inspired play from the Lady Buffs, as they took the fourth set 25-19.
“What a lot of people don’t realize is that we haven’t lost since Sept. 14, but we haven’t gone to five sets since Sept. 14,” Head Coach Jason Skoch said, summarizing the match. “We won against Commerce, because the girls played with a lot of fear.”
The final set began where the fourth left off, as the Lady Buffs started off with a strong 6-2advantage. A&M-Commerce would come within a point on four different occasions before tying the final set at 12. After a few exchanges, a Lion spike sailed out of bounds, sealing a Lady Buff victory.
“[A&M-Commerce and Angelo State] are two amazing teams and they prepared very well for this tournament,” Harton said. “Everybody’s good in playoffs. The second [obstacle in winning the championship] is overcoming ourselves. We’re really the ones who beat ourselves. We get so hyped up and really jazzed, so we have to settle back down.
Iwuchukwu would haul in a career high of 21 kills, as junior outside hitter Lauren Bevan tallied 13 kills, while both Davis and Harton recorded nine. Hayes attained 54 assists as Harton led the Lady Buffs with 18 digs. Amy Davault led A&M-Commerce with 17 kills while Jordan Neal brought on 58 assists.
“What’s cool is that the girls are winning now with the conference better than it’s ever been,” Skoch said, in speaking about WT’s respective opponents in the tournament. “Commerce was no fluke. But no one knows about them.”
On Nov. 23, the Lone Star Conference came down to a match between rivals as the Lady Buffs would clash with the Rambelles of Angelo State. The beginning of the match began with a back and forth affair before the Rambelles would take an early lead at 6-3. The Lady Buffs rally back to make it a contest, before Angelo State would take control of the set as the Rambelles created an 18-12 cushion between them and the Lady Buffs. The Rambelles stretch the lead before taking the set, 25-16.
“We realize that when we’re under pressure, we got to lean on each other and talk to each other,” Harton said, noting how the Lady Buffs rallies and eventual victories in the tournament.
The second set continued the same trend as the Rambelles jumped to an early 6-2 lead. However, solid blocking by Iwuchukwu and senior outside hitter Lee Golden would keep the Lady Buffs within striking distance. The Rambelles would widen the gap once more, extending their lead to 13-7. The Lady Buffs would find themselves in a 17-9 hole before rallying to come within three at 18-15. The Lady Buffs wouldn’t yield, eventually tying the set at 18 even. Both the Rambelles and the Lady Buffs would exchange points until the work Iwuchukwu willed the Lady Buffs into taking the set. The third set would revert to a see-saw battle early on, before the Rambelles would create a 7-2 advantage. The Lady Buffs would start to chip away at the Rambelle lead behind Harton’s kills before Angelo State would further push themselves away from the Lady Buffs to a 17-9 gap. The set would see the Rambelles push out to a 22-15 lead before taking the set, 25-15.
“Angelo State is more unassuming,” Skoch said, as he shared how the A&M-Commerce game aided the Lady Buffs. “They don’t break. Playing a team like that is tough. So the five set match against A&M-Commerce helped us. If this would have been our first five set match and playing Angelo, that’s just too much to overcome. That’s how good they are.”
The fourth set saw the Lady Buffs with their backs against the wall, as they came out to an early 6-2 lead. The Rambelles would keep the contest close, before Iwuchukwu and Hayes would strengthen the Lady Buff lead at 16-9. Angelo State refused to go away, coming within two points at 20-18. After a series of heated exchanges, the Rambelles and Lady Buffs would keep it close before an Angelo State miscue would give the Lady Buffs a 25-21 decision.
The final set began with another fierce struggle between the Lady Buffs and Rambelles, as both squads would switch between leads and even scores. The Rambelles would take an 8-6 advantage as both teams switched sides. A Rambelle mistake and Lady Buff block would bring the final set back to another tie. Harton’s two kills would send The Box into a frenzy, giving the Lady Buffs a 10-8 lead before the Rambelles would again lock the game at 10, before a Harton kill and Rambelle mistake would push the Lady Buffs to a 13-10 advantage. Angelo State would score two to keep the set at a one point deficit. After a Rambelle serve, Harton would again provide a kill to give WT match point. Angelo State would again push the Lady Buffs into a tie, before an Iwuchukwu block would keep the LSC Championship in Canyon.
“In the tournament, I saw a lot of fight in our team,” Harton, the MVP of the LSC championship tournament, said. ”It’s going to be awesome when we can get the fight, the technical stuff, and subtract the errors and put them together, then it’s going to be what we want.”
The Lady Buffs were led by Harton and Iwuchukwu, who brought in 14 kills respectively. Hayes provided 43 assists while Harton would come up with 23 digs. The Rambelles were led by Maddie Huth and Maggi Jo Keffury, who recorded 22 kills and 59 assists respectively.
“This is one of those years where we lost five seniors, three All-Americans,” Skoch said, who notched his 300th career win in defeating Angelo State. “And two of my better recruits are not playing, they’re hurt. This is one of those years where I feel like the players can help us coaches be better coaches. We get outplayed, out skilled, out executed, everything, but we’re winning. And so, this is one of those years where we figure out how we’re winning. Then next year, when our [recruits] are healed, all these kids have another year of development.”
