Women's Volleyball Scores Monumental Upset Over Arkansas-Fort Smith

Laredo, Texas - Thursday night the Texas A&M International University Women's Volleyball team took a huge step towards earning their first conference tournament berth since 2007, knocking off heavily favored Arkansas-Forth Smith in five sets, 25-23, 25-23, 23-25, 22-25, 15-13. The Dustdevils (12-14, 6-4 HC) defense led the way, picking up a season high 16 blocks on the night and holding the Lions (19-7, 6-3 HC) to a .130 attack percentage.

TAMIU rocketed out of the gates catching Fort Smith by surprise and taking a two-set lead. Leading 23-20 in the third set, the Dustdevils looked to be in great position to close out the match in three games, but the Lions rallied with a 5-0 run to steal the set away 25-23. The visitors carried that momentum into the following set winning 25-22, and extending the match one more time. The Dustdevils, unfazed by the momentum swing, held strong in the final set winning 15-13.

Head Coach Al Givens was beaming after his team's hard fought win, "I couldn't be more proud of my girls for maintaining their poise in the final set," Coach Givens said. "Fort Smith had everything going in their direction and the way we stood in there and went punch for punch with them in the fifth set shows how far this team has come. I thought we needed to win three of our final five conference matches to have a good shot at the postseason and this win really leaves us in a good position in the fight for the final four spots."

Andrea Marshall (Junior, Clinton, AZ) had a colossal night blasting a team high 20 kills and tallying 23 digs. Miranda Pratt (Sophomore, North Bend, WS) was also clutch for the Dustdevils, hammering 12 kills, including the game winner in the fifth set. Jacquelynne Matula (Junior, Corpus Christi, TX) and Alex Ciszek (Freshman, San Juan Capistrano, CA) combined for 16 total kills, while setter Daria Winckler (Junior, Zillah, WS) finished with 45 assists and 13 digs. Libero Desiree Ortiz (Sophomore, San Antonio, TX) led the TAMIU back row with a team high 22 digs on the night.

"Getting a win like this was huge for us," said Jacquelynne Matula, "I don't think many people gave us a chance, especially the way they beat us when we played them on their home court. I'm proud of everyone for hanging in there and I think we will use this win as inspiration to continue to work hard."

The Dustdevils are back at home Saturday hosting Newman University at noon, before hitting the road to face St. Mary's in San Antonio October 26th. 

 (TAMIU Sports Information Director, Michael Blake may be contacted at michael.blake@tamiu.edu)