Bulldogs Take Down Widener in Four - Finish UST Invitational Undefeated

HOUSTON, Texas -- The Texas Lutheran Bulldogs defeated the Widener Pride 22-25, 25-6, 25-12, 25-16 to conclude the UST Labor Day Invitational Saturday afternoon at the Jerabeck Activity and Athletic Center on the campus of University of St. Thomas. The Bulldogs ran the gauntlet and finished the Invitational undefeated - joining East Texas Baptist as the only teams to do so.

The Bulldogs were led by junior outside hitter Tanyse Moehrig (Spring Branch/Smithson Valley), who tallied a team-high 11 kills while hitting .579 for the match. Maddy Schultz (Richmond/Needville) added eight kills, five digs and a block while Brylie Nedd (Sealy/Sealy) added seven kills, seven digs and two blocks.

Shavonne Respondek (San Antonio/Madison) dished out 22 assists and added seven digs, four digs, four kills, and two service aces.

Lexi Morris (Victoria/Victoria West) led the Bulldogs with 17 digs and added two service aces.

The Bulldogs had an early advantage in the first set but the Pride were able to keep it tight before inevitably overtaking the Bulldogs to take the first set 25-22.

The Bulldogs responded emphatically in the second set holding the Pride to six points in the second set. The set began with a 6-0 run from TLU and closed with an 11-0 run from the Bulldogs in a dominant showing. The Bulldogs hit .381 in the second set.

The Bulldogs grabbed the lead with a 25-12 third set win.

Texas Lutheran put the match away in the fourth set, cruising to a 25-16 fourth set win.

Texas Lutheran All-Tournament Team Members:

• Sophomore setter Shavonne Respondek
• Junior outside hitter Tanyse Moehrig
• Sophomore outside hitter Brylie Nedd

Texas Lutheran continues its stretch of tough non-conference matches next weekend as they travel to Lexington, Kentucky, to compete in the Transy Invite on the campus of Transylvania University - facing host No. 24 Transylvania, Saint Benedict, Whitworth, and Illinois College. The Transylvania Pioneers and Whitworth Pirates each reached the First Round of the NCAA Championship Tournament last season. The Bulldogs tip-off against Transylvania at 3 PM CST on Friday, September 9. All streaming and live stats links can be found on tlubulldogs.com.

For more information on Texas Lutheran volleyball, follow the Bulldogs on Facebook (TLU Volleyball), Twitter (@TLU_VB), and Instagram (@tlu_vb) and as always you can find updates on all Texas Lutheran athletics on tlubulldogs.com and all official TLU social media channels (@tluathletics on Twitter, @tlu_athletics on Instagram and TikTok, and @tlubulldogs on Facebook).