The #6 Lady Buffs had a triumphant week on the road as they topped Tarleton State in three matches on Oct. 29, defeated St. Edward’s in four matches on Oct. 30, and then traveled to Kingsville to rout TAMU-Kingsville in three matches on Oct. 31.
The Lady Buffs conquered Tarleton with scores of 25-12, 25-14 and 25-18 and St. Edward’s with scores of 18-25, 25-19, 25-12 and 25-18. The win over Kingsville was a clean sweep: 25-21, 25-14 and 25-18.
“For a lot of teams we are their Super Bowl, so emotions are always running high,” junior outside hitter Lauren Thedford said. “We expect to go out there and play to our level and try to get better every game.”
The wins advance the Lady Buff record to 29-3 with an undefeated LSC record of 12-0. Tarleton State reduced to 8-19 and 3-7 in the conference, St. Edward’s record dropped to 8-3, and TAMU-Kingsville fell to 17-10 and 6-5 in the LSC.
The most recent poll taken on Oct. 29 ranks the Lady Buffs at #2 in the South Central region and #6 in the nation.
“The high ranking regionally and nationally just makes us want to prove it that much more,” Thedford said. “If we can go into matches and keep a team under 15 or 10, we will. We have to make competition and find some way to get better no matter who the team is, ranked or not.”
Senior right side Laura Prinsen has tallied the most kills for WT with 397 and .272 hitting percentage.
Senior middle Melissa Harper follows with a total of 348 successful attacks and a hitting percentage of .419 for the season.
“We have a great tradition here at WT,” Prinsen said. “Our previous coach Tony used to say, ‘Hate to lose more than you love to win,’ and that stuck with me. I absolutely love all the girls on the team.
I’ve had a lot of fun with everyone this year, and I couldn’t ask for more.”
Senior setter Katie Rickwartz is a leader for Lady Buffs on the court totaling 1,362 assists and 36 service aces. Rickwartz follows freshman libero Lauren Beville (433) and Thedford (374) in digs with 325.
“I love competing at this high level and don’t want to stop,” Rickwartz said. “I’ve been blessed with a great team this year full of wonderful girls. I couldn’t ask for anything more.”
This year’s team remains undefeated in the LSC, proving that the Lady Buffs are tough at home and on the road.
“I love playing at home, but there is just something about going into another team’s gym and beating them at their place, in front of their fans,” Prinsen said.
Lady Buff Volleyball returns to the Box on Nov. 5 to match up against Eastern New Mexico at 7 p.m.