After its dramatic win over the weekend, the Sul Ross State volleyball team was hoping to keep the momentum going forward.
On Tuesday night, the Lobos faltered in a four-set match against the Howard Payne Yellow Jackets at the Pete P. Gallego Center by the scores of 22-25, 23-25, 27-25, 19-25.
>> HOW IT HAPPENED:
Howard Payne opened the first set scoring five unanswered points.
The Lobos then rallied by using a 6-0 run to take a one-point lead.
Cassandra Espinoza came away with a pair of service aces while
Sarah Chavez,
Loren Garcia and
Daniella Garcia had one kill each.
The lead changed eight more times before the Yellow Jackets used a 4-0 run to pull away with a 17-14 lead.
Sul Ross State had trailed by one point, but Howard Payne prevailed to win the opening set, 25-22.
There were eight different lead changes in the second set.
The Lobos overcame a three-point deficit to lead 17-16. The run was highlighted by a pair of kills from
Daniella Garcia and
Jayci Richters.
Howard Payne then went ahead by four, just one point away from closing out the set before the Lobos came back to within one after a kill by
Daniella Garcia and a service ace by Espinoza.
Unfortunately, the Yellow Jackets squeezed out the 25-23 victory to take a 2-0 lead in the match.
Sul Ross State looked like a different team in the third set.
The Lobos trailed early on, 5-2, before going on an 8-0 run to flip the tables and take a 10-5 lead. Espinoza had five kills during the rally.
Sul Ross State was up by as much as seven before Howard Payne made things interesting down the stretch by tying the score at 25-all.
Daniella Garcia then put the Lobos out in front with a kill and then
Loren Garcia served up an ace to avoid the sweep and keep the match alive.
Sul Ross State held a 9-3 early lead in the fourth set.
The lead changed twice until Howard Payne used a 4-0 run to separate itself and eventually come out victorious.
>> RECORDS: Sul Ross State (4-8); Howard Payne (7-5)
>> GAME NOTES:
>> UP NEXT: Sul Ross State hosts East Texas Baptist at 5 p.m. CST on Friday, Sept. 29 to conclude the four-game homestand.
